The Longest Road
by Southern Hearts
Summary: Rewrite of Shadowed Past. AU Harry has lived most of his life between an orphanage and the streets, this all changes when he's almost the victim of a Dementor attack and his past is finally revealed. But can a broken family be put back together after so many years apart?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It is rewritten! Somewhat at least, we'll just see how this goes shall we? You'll see the first big change in this chapter, though I am keeping many aspects of the original.

Special thanks to AaronD1 for reminding me of this story.

Happy reading!

 **Our Worst day**

His eyes bore a brightness that mesmerized his young mother in everyway possible. They lit up with laughter when she tickled his feet, they shone with mischief when he grabbed her hair and they sparkled with contentment when she held him close. Lily Potter was quite happy to sit and gaze into those big green eyes for the rest of her son's life. And she planned to.

Gently bouncing the babe on her knee, she elated in his laughter and gently kissed his nose, only causing him to giggle all the more. They sat in the nursery, sharing a moment together as all mothers and children should. The toys had been cleaned up a long time since, the sun had set and all necessary bedtime arrangements had been completed. He smelt of baby creams, his thick, raven hair just a little bit damp despite Lily's best attempts to towel dry it. She was tempted to use a spell, but had never been comfortable pointing a wand at her son.

His crib was ready for bedtime, his favourite toy, a stuffed stag, lay propped up against a small pillow. The magical mobile of stars and moons above the crib was already beginning to move, preparing to help a little boy sleep. On the table near the window were several pictures of the young boy with his parents, including one taken on the day of his birth. Both he and his mother lay cuddling beside one another in a hospital bed.

"Almost sleep time, my little man," she cooed gently to her son.

He merely sucked on his little fist, looking up curiously at his mother, completely unconcerned with his upcoming trip into slumber land. Lily laughed a little, happy to see her child so content in such dark times. The smile never leaving her face, she glanced cautiously at the clock on the wall. It was nearly six thirty, the sun had set early in that late autumn evening and the crisp smell that came with November was already in the air outside. Lily was grateful for warming charms; she really couldn't imagine how she had ever survived without them.

Born to muggle parents, Lily had first been exposed to the magical world upon meeting her one time best friend, Severus Snape, as a child. It had all been so new, so marvelously fantastical. Over the years, she had been introduced to more and more of the life she knew now. Once, she had thought there was nothing else that could compare to the gift of magic.

At least, until Harry was born.

She had never pictured herself as a mother at twenty-one. Especially not in light of the war and her own involvement in the Order. Having a child had seemed…impractical. She had always wanted one, but sometimes she wished the timing had been a little better. She wished even more so that Harry had been born a little later when she learned of the prophecy. It wasn't what she would have wanted to place on any child and she prayed as often as she could that that fate would not befall her son. Her fingers drifted to her stomach, pausing for a moment. A dreaded stone seemed to drop there as she hoped her suspicions wouldn't be proven to be true.

She hoped she wasn't pregnant again.

She had been irregular lately and hadn't been bothering to keep track of the days, but the stickling feeling that she was late stuck with her. She wanted to go out and buy a muggle pregnancy test to be sure, but leaving the house had been out of the question for weeks and she didn't want to tell James, not until she was sure. While part of her elated at the thought of another child, she and James were having trouble keeping their first child safe. Not only that, but she was ten times more vulnerable when she was pregnant and she couldn't afford to leave Harry unprotected.

Brushing away such thoughts, she turned her mind to happier things. It was Halloween night, so she began to picture the feast in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. All the fine foods and candies, the ghosts and the decorations. She missed it all so much sometimes, those happy days before the world became so dark. She hugged Harry closer to her and started to talk about Hogwarts. She told him about the lake and the forest, about Hagrid's hut and Gryffindor Tower. She spoke of her favourite teachers and her interactions with the Marauders and their mischievous ways

"You'll be there soon," she said to Harry with a wink, "You'll love Hogwarts, the castle, the ghosts, the portraits. No doubt you'll be a trouble maker like your father, huh?"

Harry's eyes seemed to sparkle in agreement to her last statement and as though to prove to her that she was right, he gave her shirt a little tug and laughed. Lily shook her head fondly.

"Just remember to keep your grades up," she told him in her best motherly voice, tickling him under the chin and eliciting a giggle.

"Bit early to be lecturing him, isn't it Lils?"

Lily looked round in surprise. Tall, messy haired and grinning from ear to ear, James Potter stood in the doorway of the nursery, leaning against it's frame lazily. She got up from her chair, smiling at her husband. Within two strides he was right beside her and Harry and had his arms around both, hugging them tightly. Lily was a little taken back by his possessiveness and placed a comforting hand on his cheek.

"Tough day?" she asked him, concerned.

James sighed, kissing her gently on the lips and then on his son's forehead. Harry made a face and reached out to be held by his father.

"Da!" he whined, clearly wanting James.

With a tired smile, James lifted Harry out of Lily's arms. The small boy wrapped himself around his father's neck, proceeding to attempt to climb all over him. With a chuckle, James subdued the wandering toddler.

"Easy there, buddy," he teased, tweaking Harry's nose, "You're old man's not what he used to be."

Coming from her twenty-one year old husband, Lily snorted and James shot her a look of mock hurt.

"'I'll have you know I've had a very strenuous training session with Sirius today, wore me out it did," he defended indignantly.

"Poor baby," she murmured, smiling knowingly.

"I'd best get some sympathy!" he shot her a roguish grin.

Lily shook her head, her expression becoming serious.

"You're troubled," she pointed out.

James looked down at Harry, gently stroking his son's hair and laying a kiss on his forehead.

"The attacks are getting worse," he said, "I just hope the Longbottoms are alright, they've recently moved locations again. I think we should do the same."

Lily simply nodded, caressing James' arm thoughtfully. They both loved Godric's Hollow, but even with a Secret Keeper, staying in one place too long was dangerous. Voldemort was after their son as well as the Longbottom's child, Neville. Both boys pertained to the prophecy that so few knew about. Even James and Lily had kept it from their closest friends, Sirius, Remus and Peter. The fewer people who knew of the prophecy the better for everyone.

"I have a surprise, by the way," said James, immediately brightening, "I thought it might cheer you up."

"What-"

" _Oh really Sirius_ , be careful with those bags," came an awfully familiar voice from down stairs.

"Yes Mrs. Evans," the disgruntled voice of one Sirius Black floated up, then what sounded like a very meaningful cough and Sirius' tone of voice changing as he said, "I mean _Aunt Rose_."

Lily's eyes widened and her face broke out into a huge smile as she turned to her husband and gave him a big kiss before she rushed downstairs. She rounded the corner to see a small woman with greying red hair brushing herself off from the fireplace and beamed.

"Mum!" she cried, rushing to her mother and throwing her arms around the older woman. Tears stung her eyes, partly from happiness, but mostly from relief. She needed someone to confide in.

Rose Evans smiled fondly at her youngest daughter and returned the hug. Recently widowed, but stronger than most, she still wore only black clothing in mourning of her husband, Lily's father, Christian Evans. She was a small woman who always wore her reddish grey hair up in a bun, had warm blue eyes and a kind smile.

"Lily!" she gushed, stepping back a little, "Let me take a look at you! You look so thin! Have you been eating right?"

"Of course Mum," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"I should hope so," said Rose, squeezing her daughter's hand, "Now, where's this grandson of mine, hmmm? I haven't seen him in months!"

Lily laughed a little, just as James came down the stairs with Harry. The little boy gurgled happily when he saw Sirius, who immediately grinned and waved.

"Pa'foo woof, woof!" he yelled at his godfather.

"Harry!" the shaggy man cried back excitedly, immediately relinquishing him from his father's arms, "There's my favourite godson."

"Your only godson, Sirius," James couldn't seem to help but point out.

He was duly ignored.

"Woof! Woof!" Harry repeated, tugging at Sirius' hair demandingly.

The dog animagus gave his godson an offended look.

"Is that all I am to you?" Sirius exclaimed in mock offence, tickling the baby as he did, "A play thing?"

Harry's answering giggles confirmed everything.

"Here," he handed the babe over to his grandmother, "I see I'm not wanted."

"Pa'foo!" the little boy whined.

Harry's vocabulary was steadily beginning to develop and now each member of the family and extended family had a familiar sounding word they answered to; 'Pa'foo' for Sirius, 'Da' for James, 'Ma' for Lily, 'Mooey' for Remus, 'Urmy' for Peter and 'Ganny' for his grandmother Evans. There were other things he knew, the sounds of his favourite animals, when to call for food or story time and the names of his favourite toys.

Sirius looked pleadingly at James who shot him a look that clearly said 'you're on your own.' With a sigh, Sirius made a great flourish with his hands and transformed into a dog. The great, shaggy black beast gave a loud bark, wagging his tail and pressing a cold nose to Harry's little feet. The baby clapped and laughed loudly, reaching for Sirius's ears. Sensing danger, Padfoot immediately stepped back and shifted into his human form.

Harry pouted.

"I'm not falling for it again," Sirius told the little boy, wagging a finger at him, "I'm not a horse and my ears are not reins."

James couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed, turning on him, "Next time, he can ride _you_ around. You're the one with the hooves."

"No one's riding anyone," Lily crossed her arms, "What have you two been doing with my son? First that broom-"

"He loves the broom!" Sirius defended, "You shouldn't worry so much, Lils."

"Between you and James, I'm _never_ going to stop worrying about him," she scoffed irritably, "He'll probably end up a reckless Quidditch player. Like you two!"

Ignoring the thoughtful grins of her husband and his best friend's faces, Lily turned to her mother and son instead.

"Look at those eyes," Rose said, smiling when Harry gurgled at her with glee, "Just like when _you_ were a babe. Your father always said they were lucky eyes."

Lily gave a sad smile, the grey haired, green eyed man she had loved so much springing to mind. She wished Harry could remember him. There were times when he gave her the most patient, knowing looks, reminding her of Christian Evans' gentle face.

"How's Petunia?" Lily asked, it had been a long time since she and her sister had spoken and with the Death Eaters being after their family, she had thought it best to abstain all contact. Of course, Rose Evans would hear none of it and despite her husband's premature death earlier that year, refused to cut off any connections with her youngest daughter.

"She's doing well," said Rose, a little stiffly, "I still don't approve of that man of hers. Far too short tempered. Little Dudley is cute. Spoilt as anything though."

"I'm glad to hear she's alright," Lily breathed, honestly relieved, "I haven't seen her in a while."

Four unspoken words passed between them, as loud as if they had been shouted from the rooftops of the entire village.

 _She still blames me._

"She'll come round, she's a good girl," said her mother knowingly, she looked at James and Sirius, "Now are you two going to show this old woman to her room or am I going to be standing around all night?"

"Of course not, my _beautiful_ mother-in-law," James chuckled, scooping up her bag, "We were just about to, weren't we Mr. Padfoot?"

"Indeed Mr. Prongs," grinned Sirius, giving Rose a mock salute and picking up her other bag, "The lady must be shown to her chambers."

"Charmers, the both of you," Rose said with a wave of her hand.

James gave her a boyish grin.

"Only in the presence of incredibly attractive red heads," he winked, ignoring his wife's bemused look.

"James, you-" Rose began only to be interrupted by a loud wailing sound that erupted through the house.

The reactions were instantaneous.

Lily moved closer to her son, James and Sirius dropped Rose's bags unceremoniously to the ground and drew their wands. Harry, sensing the sudden tension in the room and not understanding the meaning of the loud sounds, began to fuss in Rose's arms, trying to get to his mother. Lily was there immediately, taking her baby and gently rocking him in comfort.

"The wards have been tripped," she explained at her mother's confused look.

"Is that bad?" Rose asked, her eyes wide as the wailing sound came to a halt.

"Even if someone has set it off," James said, "They can't find Godric's Hollow. It's protected."

 _The Fidelius Charm_. Lily hoped Peter was alright.

"We should still check it out," Sirius said, already headed to the door.

"I'm coming too," Lily began, already moving to hand Harry to her mother, but James stopped her.

"It's safer here," he told his wife firmly, "Stay with Harry. He'll be too scared without you."

She looked down at her son, biting her lower lip. She knew James just wanted her to stay out of danger, but he was clever. He'd played to her worry as a mother. She wanted so much to go with him though. James took everything on his shoulders, as though he thought he could deter the prophecy from Harry if he did more than anyone in the war effort. It made her worry. She wanted him to know that he wasn't alone in this fight, she needed him to know that. Whenever she could, she wanted to be the one standing beside him, even if it was just to check the wards.

But she didn't want to leave Harry either.

"Fine," she said softly, then glared at her husband, "But you had better send me a Patronus if there's trouble."

"Marauder's honour," James swore, raising his right hand. He gave Lily and Harry a kiss each, waved to Rose and practically dragged Sirius out the door.

"Da?" Harry questioned, his eyes glued to the door.

"Daddy will be back soon," Lily whispered, adjusting him on her hip, "Don't you worry, little man."

She felt a warm hand being laid on her shoulder and turned to smile at her mother. The older woman gave her a comforting look.

"You found yourself a brave man," she commented.

Surprised by the observation, Lily found herself nodding in agreement. Her earlier anger sparking over her worry.

"An overprotective, reckless man who cares too much sometimes," she muttered, before glancing at her son, "Don't you turn out like that, you'll make my hair grey prematurely."

Harry just looked at her with his big, bottle green eyes, clearly not understanding her meaning.

Rose laughed.

"If he inherits half the traits I've seen between you and James, that boy will go far," she said sagely, "You mark my words; Harry will do great things someday."

Lily wondered at the prophetic tone in her mother's voice. Rose Evans had always had a knack for knowing things, like when it was going to rain or whenever one of them was coming home after a terrible day. She always had a warm cup of cocoa waiting and an even warmer smile. As a small child and before her exposure to the magical world, Lily had thought what her mother did _was magic_ , but now she equated it to experience. She would be quite happy if her son just turned out to be an average, healthy, normal young man. Well, as normal as a wizard could get, she supposed. She didn't want him to do 'great things' if it meant he had to become part of some dead locked prophecy.

 _Dear God, please don't let it be Harry._

She would pray again and again. She would beg and plead and she would worry. She would worry till the day she died, because she was a mother.

And it was kind of in her job description.

"A little serious, don't you think?" she teased her mother.

Rose Evans only gave her daughter a knowing look.

"I think we should get you settled in," Lily pulled out her wand, giving it a flick and sending the luggage up to the guest room, "And then it's this little one's bedtime."

Harry may not have known every word in the English language yet, but he knew the dreaded 'bedtime.' He shook his head, tapped his little hand on Lily's chin.

"Nuh nah," he said, pouting.

The two women laughed.

"How about Grandma tells you a story?" Rose offered, "Would you like that?"

The little boy's eyes lit up, he started bouncing in Lily's arms, clapping his small hands together and chanting in his little voice.

"Sto'y! Ganny sto'y!"

 **~HP~**

"One of us should have stayed with them," James said, glancing back at the house about fifteen minutes later, "I don't like this Padfoot, it's been months since something tripped the wards."

Everything seemed so quiet. James could see Jack O' Lanterns shining on the gates of several houses and he wondered if any children would try their luck at Trick or Treating on such a chilly night. Their house was invisible to the world; there would be no pumpkins for them this Halloween. The cool chill of autumn air did little to comfort him. He and Sirius had to check the outside wards that run a hundred feet around the house in all directions, creating a neat perimeter. An early warning system. No one would be able to find the house, not with a Secret Keeper taking care of it. If there was anyone lurking around, James and Sirius would find him quickly. They wouldn't go far, true, but there were areas off to the side where they would lose visibility. James didn't like that.

"Lily can hold her own," Sirius reassured his friend, "She'll send word if anything goes a miss and we'll be there in seconds."

James still had a bad feeling.

"Lets just be quick," he said finally, "I really don't like leaving them alone too long."

"I checked on Peter earlier," his friend said, "He was safe."

James nodded, but he wasn't really thinking of Peter at that moment. Another of their friends had his thoughts as he looked up at the full moon.

"This is going to be his first full moon in nearly six years without one of us there, isn't it?" he said bitterly, "Sirius, you know I don't believe Remus is the mole."

"I don't want to either," Sirius sighed, "But even if he isn't, at least he's safe. I dropped by on Moony yesterday…he seemed to have everything under control."

James felt guilty. One of them should be there for his transformation, one of them should be by his side, but instead they were all here without him. He knew it couldn't be helped, but it still made his stomach squirm. At Hogwarts and even over the summer breaks, one of the Marauders had always made sure they were there during one of Remus' transformations. When Hogwarts ended, the tradition had been kept. Someone always went.

Except for tonight.

He looked up at the moon again and hoped his friend was alright.

They reached the first warding point within minutes. Sirius ran a diagnostic on it with his wand, checking for tampering and strengthening the seal. James kept guard, his eyes on the house, his ears searching for anything drawing close. In the far distance, he thought he could hear a group of muggles laughing loudly as they made their way to the local pub. He shook his head in slight amusement. It had been a long time since he had ventured into a pub himself.

Fatherhood had changed a lot of things about James Potter. He liked to think it had given him a wake up call. Everything had still been a joke after Hogwarts. Fighting Death Eaters was just a fun thing to do. Sure, he had taken it seriously to a degree, but it wasn't until the moment he learned he was going to be a father that everything just came crashing down. He couldn't go on patrols with Sirius anymore, riding around on a magical motorcycle attracting trouble, he had to be home as often as he could. His life couldn't be expendable because he had a family to look after. He couldn't be reckless because he needed to take care of Lily. He couldn't stop fighting because his son might be the only person destined to end this war.

He had to make sure that if that ever came to pass, he could take as much of his son's burden as he could.

That was what James had decided the day he and Lily had been told of the prophecy, the day everything changed for them. Dumbledore had been reluctant to tell them why he wanted them to go into hiding, but James had insisted. As much as he trusted the older wizard, he thought that sometimes Dumbledore still saw them as his students who required protection.

Maybe on some level, that was true.

They'd barely been twenty the day Harry was born, nineteen when they knew of the pregnancy, married for even shorter a time before that and just turning eighteen when they had graduated Hogwarts. Life moved so quickly now. Harry's first birthday had only been a few months previously and already he was stumbling on his feet, following James around the house. Already he was learning to talk and ride his little broomstick. It wasn't so long now and James would be sending him off on the train to Hogwarts.

Life was going to move so fast and James wanted to be there for every moment of it. Even if Harry turned out to be _the one_ , he was going to give his son the best childhood he could, he was going to stand beside him through everything, he was going to lessen any burden, take his place at any danger.

Harry would _never_ be alone.

James promised himself that.

He glanced at Sirius.

He knew that if anything happened to him, Sirius would love Harry as his own. The two men had been friends most of their lives and James considered the dog animagus his brother. Or as close to one as he could get. After the deaths of James' own aging parents from Dragon Pox, Lily and the Marauders had become his family in everyway that counted. Now he and Lily had a little family of their own and James knew he would always want his friends to be part of it.

"This ones alright," Sirius looked round at James, shaking his friend from his thoughts, "The next one should be-"

A sharp, scuffling sound came from the garden of one of the muggle houses they stood in front of. James and Sirius immediately pointed their wands in the direction of the noise, their tips glowing, casting pale shadows onto the bushes.

"Show yourself!" James barked.

"It's m-me!" a familiar voice squeaked, catching both men off guard.

James frowned.

"Wormy?" he asked, "Is that you?"

Sure enough, the short, pudgy figure of Peter Pettigrew shifted towards them in the darkness, coming into the light of their wands. He was extremely pale and very nervous.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked, lowering his wand.

"Someone was s-sneaking around n-near my home," Peter said in a rush, he was fidgeting with his sleeve, "I thought I better come and see n-nothing was a miss. I was scared that…"

He trailed off, looking around nervously, his eyes moving to James.

It was then that James realized he still had his wand pointed at Peter. He reluctantly lowered his arm, not sure where his hesitation came from. This was Wormtail after all, a Marauder and a friend.

 _Still…_

"Did you set off the wards?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Peter looked shocked, Sirius stared at him scandalized, but James knew the moment the question left his mouth that it was the right thing to ask.

"Why would Peter set off the wards?" Sirius snorted, "He's keyed into them!"

"Your w-wards were set off?" there was still that nervous, unsure tremor in Peter's voice, "Have you…found the cause?"

"Not yet," James said slowly, that bad feeling was back, "I think we should go back now…"

"We haven't checked the other wards yet," Sirius protested, "What if-"

"I don't care," James found himself snapping, then took a deep breath to calm himself, "Sorry. I just have a bad feeling about this. I think we should contact the Order. I want Lily and Harry moved _tonight_."

Sirius nodded slowly, but Peter looked oddly panicked.

"A-are you sure?" the rat animagus said nervously, "It's such short notice and Halloween night is not the b-best time to do anything. It might be nothing."

James looked at his friend oddly.

"I still want someone from the Order here," he said finally, "I don't feel right."  
"It's your choice Prongs," Sirius said, drawing his wand once more, "I'll send a message-"

"Wait!"

It was Peter who had spoken.

Both men looked at their friend.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, "What's the matter?"

"Its just uh-" Peter licked his lips nervously, "It c-could be nothing. What's the point in g-getting the rest of the Order involved? B-between the three of us, I'm certain we could find any intruder and deal with them."

James' brow furrowed in confusion.

"Peter, is there something you're not telling us?" again, the words were out of his mouth before he could think about it. Peter was fidgeting with the one of his sleeves again, as though afraid of something. James had a brief, horrible thought.

 _He couldn't be…_

He lunged forward before anyone could move and grabbed Peter's arm. The shorter man tried to pull away, but James had always been stronger than him. He just about ripped the sleeve off, but as soon as the tattooed skin came into view, he felt like ice was being poured through his veins.

 _No._

"What is this?" he asked shakily, his grip frozen onto Peter's arm, his fingers digging into his skin. Peter winced in pain, trying to pull away, but James didn't care.

Peter was a Death Eater.

Sirius stepped forward, visibly paling when his eyes fell on the tattoo.

"It was never Remus," James continued, trembling, "It was _you_. You're the mole! How could you, Peter?!"

He didn't respond.

Betrayal stung like a knife in his gut. Angry tears welled in James' eyes, he was so furious he could have taken Peter's arm right off. Beside him, he could hear Sirius yelling angry obscenities, but he didn't seem to know what to do any more than James did. Peter was a Death Eater. Peter was their Secret Keeper. Peter was here, he didn't want them calling the Order or going back to the house.

James' stomach dropped.

"Lily," he whispered, his eyes widening, and then yelled, "Lily!"

He released Peter, taking off at a run towards the house. He almost staggered when a flash of green light radiated through the upstairs windows, but gathered himself and surged forward. He briefly noticed Sirius running up behind him. He had no idea what his friend had done to Pettigrew and he didn't care. He just had to get to Lily.

The door had been blasted open and it was dark inside. James was about to step through the doorway, wand drawn, when another flash of green filled the windows and the house shook as though an explosion had gone off. He was almost knocked off his feet.

He dragged himself into the house, the ceiling was cracking, and there was dust and rubble everywhere. He made his way into the entrance hall and screamed.

All he could see was a slumped figure at the foot of the steps and blood everywhere.

" _Lily!"_

 **~HP~**

They had just been about to ascend the steps to Harry's room when it happened. Someone blasted in the door, creating a loud crashing sound. Lily's heart hammered in fear. Something inside told her who it was.

"Mum! Take Harry and hide! Go!" she thrust her precious son into her mother's arms, pushing them both away. As soon as the two disappeared upstairs, she turned to face the doorway. He was coming in through the kitchen; she could hear his slinking footsteps. He moved as though he had all the time in the world. She braced herself at the base of the stairs. She would not let him through. No matter what, he would not pass her.

The door from the kitchen creaked open and she saw him.

It wasn't the first time Lily had seen Voldemort, it wasn't the first time she had faced him. Three times she and James had been lucky. Three times they had beaten the odds.

James wasn't standing beside her now though.

Lord Voldemort was a handsome man. Well over middle aged, he still possessed his dark hair, his face bore few lines and his cold blue eyes could hold a man in place. There was a reason he had so many followers. Voldemort was charismatic, attractive and appealing to those who wanted power.

Lily didn't waste time staring though. She fired hexes at the man, but he was too quick for her. With a slice of his wand, he had knocked her backwards. She hit the steps hard; her wand flew from her hands and clattered to the ground. Disorientated, she sat up, her eyes searching for her wand, but it had rolled off somewhere.

"Lily Potter," his voice was slick, "We meet again. Motherhood seems to suit you…where _is_ dear Harry?"

He wore a cruel smirk. Lily struggled to her feet, her bottom lip had split open and she wiped away the trickle of blood on her chin.

"Leave him alone," she ground out, her voice stronger than she felt.

Voldemort made a tutting sound.

"I can't do that, _mudblood_ ," he sneered, "Why don't you just stand aside. I don't need to kill you."

Lily hesitated. Not because she was considering stepping aside, but because she was surprised. Voldemort hated muggle-borns. He shouldn't even be talking to her. She was defenseless, no wand, no protector. She was all that stood between him and his goal. Why would he offer her life?

It had to be a trick.

Whatever his game was, she was going to be _his_ hesitation. She was going to delay as long as she could and pray James and Sirius would return soon.

She had to protect her son.

"He's just a baby," she pleaded, not caring if he heard the desperation in her voice, "He can't do anything to you! He can barely walk!"

Voldemort did not seem impressed by her cries.

"Step aside, girl," he hissed menacingly.

Lily took a hold of the stair banister, her fingers gripping the wood tightly, every ounce of her trembling.

She shook her head.

"Please!" she tried again, if she had to beg this monster to spare her son's life, then that was what she would do, "Kill _me_! Leave Harry alone!"

"Step aside!" Voldemort repeated, impatience and anger dancing in his cold, blue eyes, "I said step aside! You silly girl!"

"Please spare my son!" the tears were running down her face now, it wasn't a delay tactic anymore, she was truly feeling desperate. Voldemort was getting so close now and every ounce of her was screaming to run to Harry. But she knew that if she dared turn her back on this monster, she would certainly never see her son again.

 _James, please come._

"I only want the boy," Voldemort growled, taking a threatening step forward, "Now move!"

"No," Lily screamed, holding herself firmly between the stairs and him, "You cannot have him! Take me instead, please!"

"Pathetic!" Voldemort spat, raising his wand arm, "I have no patience for you. _Drown_ in your own _filthy_ blood. _Sectumsempra_!"

For a brief moment, it felt like nothing had happened. Voldemort stood there, watching her with leering grin and she wondered why he appeared so satisfied. Then the pain. Like a hundred knives were cutting into her flesh. She doubled over, looking down at herself. They were everywhere.

Cuts. Deep enough to draw her life giving blood and they were all over her body. Her neck, her arms, her stomach, her face…

She gasped. Hot, acid pain erupted through each one. She felt delirious. She looked up at Voldemort again for one moment, his face blurred in her vision and the world span. She hit something hard, slumped down and in her pain filled mind only briefly registered that she lay writhing on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

She tried to breath.

"A fitting ending," she could hear his amused voice, "Now the world can see your dirty blood. Quick deaths were not made for _muggles_."

She was gasping, trying to speak, but nothing came out.

"Don't worry, dear Lily," his voice was slick again, "I won't make your son suffer…for very long."

With that, he stepped over her body. In a desperate attempt to move, she tried to grab hold of his ankle, but he kicked her away and spat in her face, commenting again on her filth. He ended up getting away from her reach, she saw his blurry mass walking up the stairs, as casual as if he were just going up for a nap. She tried to call out, but something was rising in her throat, maybe blood, maybe bile.

There was so much of it.

Lily was suddenly unaware of anything but the warm, rushing life fluid pouring from her body. This spell. She knew it. From somewhere…

It was hazy now. Maybe a Death Eater had used it in front of her, maybe she had just heard about it in an Order meeting. But everything was _fading away.._.

She didn't even hurt anymore; the world was just growing dimmer, like she was falling asleep. She felt so tired, she wanted to rest, she wanted -

" _Get away from him!"_

That voice.

 _Mum?_

Lily's eyes snapped open. Voldemort. Harry. He had come for Harry. She couldn't rest…her little boy…

 _Blood. All the blood around her. Blood protection. Harry._

She was dying, wasn't she? Maybe she could buy her son's life with her own; there was that magic, that old magic. She just needed to will it, if she concentrated hard enough, she didn't even need her wand. It was all in her soul and in her blood.

For a horrifying moment, she remembered the possible life growing within her and felt grief like no other. She could only hope she was wrong. She couldn't decide between her two children, not when she wasn't sure one even existed. Right now, she could do something for Harry. She just hoped James would forgive her.

She closed her eyes and concentrated. She used the blood leaking from her veins as the focus and she concentrated on her son. With it, she sent her silent plea into the magic.

 _With my blood._

She could feel her strength failing, but she carried on, she could feel her magic gathering, she could see it encircling Harry.

 _Protect my blood._

It was settling on her son, she could sense it, the blood protection.

 _Use my life._

She poured all her love into the magic and she prayed, she prayed It would work.

 _Spare his._

The magic left her. The blood protection was sealing.

She heard her mother scream and then silence. The entire house shook a moment later, but she hardly noticed. She lifted a weary hand and rested it on her stomach.

 _I'm sorry, baby._

Right before the world faded into darkness, she thought she could hear someone calling her name.

 **~HP~**

The stench of blood was everywhere. It filled his nostrils with its coppery scent and made him want to gag. All he could see in the dim light was the bleeding figure of his wife; she lay motionless on the ground. Not moving, not asking for help, not even breathing. Shaking all over, he knelt beside her, his knees soaking in the blood. He gingerly felt for a pulse.

For a horrible second, he could find none.

Then he felt it.

The faint rhythm beneath his fingertips, that beautiful heartbeat.

"You're alive," he breathed, feeling like at least part of his pain had been released; now he just had to keep her that way. Sirius was kneeling beside him now, his own face a mask of blind rage.

"Is Lily-?" he shook his head, "That rat! I'll-"

He ground out a few nasty scenarios, but James was hardly listening. He was casting basic first aid spells on Lily. He had seen this curse only once before, it was a new one that the Death Eaters seemed fond of. They had barely been able to save the man who'd been unlucky enough to be on it's receiving end last time. The spells he was using would prevent further blood loss for a little while and keep her condition stable, but it would wear off much too soon. She needed to go to a hospital.

"She's alive," James thought his voice sounded a lot calmer than he felt. Maybe it was the shock setting in. He was about to Apparate, when he remembered. It hit him like a well aimed Bludger to the stomach. He had been so utterly absorbed with Lily, he hadn't even thought…

Panic and guilt took him.

 _Harry._

"Take her to Saint Mungo's now!" he yelled, picking her up and depositing her into his best friend's arms. Sirius looked at him in pale confusion, Lily's bloody form staining his own clothes.

"But Peter-" he started stupidly.

A part of James understood that this was beyond anything Sirius had had to deal with before and that going after Pettigrew would probably be the only thing he felt he could do right now, but James wasn't in the mood to be understanding. He needed his best friend to do the hard thing now, and that was to ignore his first reaction.

"I swear to God Sirius," James growled, his patience gone, his wife dying, "If Lily dies because you tried to argue with me about going after that rat, I will kick your bloody arse! _Take her now_!"

Sirius looked at him wide eyed, seeming to snap to reality. His pale face turned white and he nodded with grim intent, disappearing from where he sat with a sharp crack. James stood, fighting back the urge to cry.

"Please get there in time," he whispered, turning to run upstairs.

He took them two at a time, his breathing becoming short from the urgency and his own blind panic. He kept chanting a mantra in his head, pleading whatever powers were listening that he would find his son alive.

There were stray flames in the passageway upstairs. James cast quick freezing charms as he went, to prevent them from spreading further. The explosion had collapsed in the door to Harry's nursery and James had to blast his way through. What he found only made his heart sink.

The only person he saw in the room was Rose Evans.

Her body lay near the crib, shattered glass and broken picture frames scattered about her, the table they had been on knocked down. Large, vacant blue eyes stared up at the ceiling, forever robbed of the love and laughter he'd seen in them only a half hour ago. He knelt beside her, feeling for a pulse despite the obvious signs she had been hit with the Killing curse. With a shuddering breath, he gently slid a hand over her eyes, closing them one last time and silently stood, his eyes scanning the rest of the room.

He saw a heap of dark robes on the ground, charred and torn up, as though they had been part of the blast. He ignored them, continuing to search the rest of the room. He turned over the fallen dresser, looked inside the crib, opened the cupboards, looked round the corners, each time fearing he would find the tiny corpse of his infant son, but there was none there.

"Harry!" he yelled, combing the room from top to bottom, casting revealing and summoning charms every few seconds. The longer he searched, the more desperate he became. Finally sure he had turned every part of the nursery upside down, he moved on to the other rooms. Maybe Rose had hidden Harry somewhere and then run into the nursery.

He carried on with his spells, but nothing revealed any sign of human life in the house. He didn't know how long he spent looking around the small house, but soon he was panting, looking in rooms he had already checked, each time hoping against all hope that his little boy had just crawled somewhere.

Dread settled in.

No Harry.

 _And no Voldemort._

A horrible idea occurred to him. What if Voldemort had taken Harry off somewhere to kill him later? What if the explosion had been a diversion? What if-?

He tried to calm himself down. It would do him no good if he lost it right then. He needed to figure out what happened. He needed to find his son.

The Auror training finally started to click in and he tried to think of the situation as though he was not a family member involved. He was sure old Mad-Eye would be proud.

Voldemort would have no reason to keep Harry alive, or to create a diversion. There was the possibility that he would take the body with him as a trophy, but even for Voldemort, that seemed…too psychotic and not very elegant. So Harry, or Voldemort, or both still had to be in this house. He remembered the pile of torn clothes and returned upstairs to rummage through them for clues.

All he found was a wand.

He picked up the foreign item carefully, his eyes narrowing. It wasn't Lily's wand that was for sure. Long and pale, he thought it was like touching bone. He didn't like the feeling at all.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to see what the last few spells this wand had used were, in order to figure out who it belonged to.

"Priori Incantato," he intoned, watching the wand's reaction carefully and counting off the spells in his head. It was not the first time he had encountered them.

 _Avada Kedavra. Avada kedavra. Sectumsempra. Crucio. Mosmorde._

Not one of these was a spell an ally would cast.

Licking his lips, James gingerly placed the wand on the ground with the robes again, not willing to hold the offending item any further. If it belonged to who he thought it did, then it was the instrument of his mother-in-law's death and his wife's injuries. He looked around again, taking in everything about the room.

Voldemort's robes and wand on the ground. Explosion. No sign of Harry.

The last line of the Prophecy suddenly thundered in his head with full force.

 _Neither one can live while the other survives._

 _No. Please no._

"Harry!" he yelled, "Harry!"

It was pointless; an awful part of him knew that, but James didn't want to give up. His child, his sweet little boy couldn't be…

 _Dead._

He felt sick.

Swallowing hard, he took one last look around the ruins of Harry's nursery, his lips trembling with grief and rage.

 _Crack_. He Disapparated away.

 **~HP~**

Peter had dodged the spell Sirius sent at him, before turning his back and chasing after James, by transforming into a rat. Now, in the bright light of the full moon, he scampered through the gutter's of Godric's Hollow's streets, his tiny ears twitching for any approaching sounds. He kept to the shadows, wary of the moment the Order members arrived, or Sirius decided to return.

 _If they returned._

He wasn't sure what had caused the explosion only minutes ago, but he was certain that if the Dark Lord was still in the house, neither of his old friends would return. He felt cold to the knowledge, almost regretful.

 _Damn James!_ Why had he decided the one night Peter forgot to put a glamour on his arm to check for the Mark? It was terrible luck! The worst Peter had had in a long time. Images of consoling his friends and leading them to the 'right' side were slowly slipping from his mind. Now they would be angry with him, distrustful.

They needed to see how pointless that was.

He would never be as smart as Remus, as brilliant as James or as popular as Sirius, but Peter had always known how to stay on top. Always known the right friends to make. He prided himself on having more common sense than his old friends. Surely they could see the war was pointless? One side was going to win and it would never be theirs. Peter would be the one with the plan this time; Peter would be the one pulling them out of trouble.

Harry was nothing but an obstacle and too young to ever be truly important. Surely they would forget the child in time, come to realize the benefit of obeying the Dark Lord? Remus would be with those of his own kind and finally respected in the armies of the Death Eaters. James and Sirius were from old, noble pure blood families, they would do well in the new world. Lily, though a Muggle-born, would surely be protected through her marriage to James.

And he, Peter Pettigrew, loyal from the beginning, would be rewarded and trusted. Valued and made powerful by his Master. He would be able to keep all his old friends safe. He would be the one on top and they would be the 'tag-a-longs.'

Harry just had to die.

Maybe they would see it in time, no, they surely would see it in time. Lily and James' first born was a sufficient sacrifice to appease the Dark Lord. They were both young, there would be more children, better children. Lily would get over the loss of her son and come to realize she was better off without him. Better off under the protection of those better than her.

They would realize that Peter had done this for their own good.

It was a satisfying thought, as he scurried through the damp leaves and refuse, after tonight everything would change for him. His Master had promised reward beyond his wildest dreams. Lily would be safe, all he wanted was Harry and that Muggle mother of hers would be an acceptable loss in the grand scheme of things. Yes, everything would fit in quite nicely.

He just needed to lay low for a while and give his friend's a chance to cool off, then they would be the Marauders again and everything would alright.

He tried to forget the bright green eyes of the little boy he had played with only a few weeks before and the happy giggles and calls that had followed him in his dreams when guilt was finally able to sink in.

 **~HP~**

James stared down at his hands blankly, not even aware of the world moving around him. He noticed Sirius pacing in front of him, his feet clapping with a stodgy rhythm on the stone floors of the ward. St. Mungo's was not James' favourite place to be. The only good memory he ever had of this place was the night Harry was born and now here he sat, like he had many times before, waiting to find out if someone he cared about would die.

He'd sat in this very same waiting room with Lily once, waiting to hear if his father would make it through. He didn't think he could have survived that day without her.

"James."

He looked up at the voice, it was Professor Dumbledore.

The older man looked ancient, his aging face pale and drawn as he approached the young man who had once been his student. James shot him a blank look.

"Any sign?" he asked, his voice so hopeful it might have broken.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly.

"We searched the house and the surrounding area, there is no sign of Harry…or Voldemort," his adjusted his half moon spectacles tiredly, "I must tell you James, I do not believe we will find Harry anywhere near Godric's Hollow. I have told the Order to widen the search perimeters."

Sirius stopped pacing.

"You think he's alive?" he sounded as hopeful as James had, "How can you be sure?"

Dumbledore gave his former student a sharp look, his eyes were not twinkling as they usually did.

"I have a theory," he said slowly, "I do not wish to get your hopes up until I can confirm it."

"My son is missing and my wife may be dying," James gave a bitter laugh, "I don't care if it's false. I need that hope Professor. I need it more than ever."

He and the Professor stared at one another for a very long time and for the first time, James saw a flicker of understanding in the older wizard's eyes. The kind of understanding that came from experiencing a senseless tragedy and having no way of dealing with it. For the first time, James wondered what Dumbledore's past had been like to garner such understanding.

He saw an old man where before there had been an untouchable wizard.

"I believe Voldemort is gone," Dumbledore said quietly, "Not dead, but certainly defeated for now. It is thanks to your son that this is so. You wanted hope James, this is it…the prophecy. _Neither one can live while the other survives_. Harry Potter is still alive."

"Then where is he?" James chocked, "Where is my son?"

"What prophecy?" Sirius asked at the same time.

The three of them were the only ones in that waiting room. Dumbledore took a seat, gesturing for Sirius to do the same. The shaggy haired man gave his best friend a wary look, before doing as the Professor ordered. James shot his Sirius an apologetic glance.

"I'll explain later," he said softly, "It's a long story."

Sirius opened his mouth to complain, but then apparently decided against it. It had taken fifteen minutes and an angry, distraught James to convince Sirius not to go chasing after Peter Pettigrew. He knew better than to push his friend at a time like this.

"It is possible," Dumbledore murmured, "That when the Killing curse rebounded-"

"What?" both of the younger men exclaimed in unison.

"Ah," Dumbledore coughed, "I should explain. Moody and I have examined the nursery and our initial investigation has concluded the manner of Voldemort's demise and the cause of the explosion. He was hit with a rebound of the Killing Curse. It's instability caused the explosion and the destruction of Voldemort's body."

"That's impossible," Sirius gaped, "There is nothing in this world that the Killing Curse could just-just bounce off of!"

Dumbledore said nothing.

"It was Harry," James rasped, "It rebounded off Harry, didn't it?"

For a brief, wonderful moment, James thought Dumbledore would tell him he was wrong. There was no way after all, no way at all, that his son could have survived the Killing Curse. It was foolish and impossible.

But Dumbledore nodded.

And James' world came crashing down.

"That's not possible," Sirius breathed before James could utter a sylable, "No one has ever…how can you be sure?"

"Voldemort was the only one in that room capable of casting the Killing curse," Dumbledore said gravely, "And I highly doubt he was pointing his wand at himself when he did so. I believe, and this still requires further enquiry, that the Killing Curse rebounded off of Harry and hit Voldemort, destroying his body and causing the explosion. It is also my belief that in a burst of accidental magic, Harry Apparated away to protect himself."

James leaned back, running a hand through his hair.

"You think my fifteen month old son Apparated?" James didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Merlin, you're not joking, are you?"

"I will check again," Dumbldore said, "But I am confident in my assessment. Harry is alive and…apparently a very powerful young wizard."

"And you think that just because of this prophecy, he is still alive?" James questioned, growing impatient, "You have no proof!"

"You wanted hope and I have given you what I can," Dumbledore said patiently, "Until I have looked into it further, I can give you no concrete answer."

James licked his lips, nodding slowly.

"Sorry," he murmured.

Dumbledore's gaze softened.

"It's alright, my boy," he laid a hand on James' shoulder, "You have had more sadness tonight than anyone your age should. I promise, I will not rest until I have the answers for you."

James just nodded, fighting tears.

"But how could he have survived the Killing Curse in the first place?" it was Sirius who spoke, "What could have possibly made it rebound?"

James looked at Dumbledore expectantly, the question had been buzzing around his head too. Was it some magic to do with the prophecy? The power that Harry had but Voldemort did not?

"I believe Lily will hold that answer for us," the headmaster said gravely.

James froze.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Dumbledore gave a sigh, "Some weeks after the prophecy was made, Lily asked me about certain…blood magics."

"That's dark stuff," Sirius commented slowly.

"In some cases, yes," Dumbledore agreed, "Lily might have used a blood ward, but whether or not this attests to Harry's survival, I am not certain. We will have to wait for her recovery."

James could only stare.

"So it's Harry then?" he asked quietly, "The prophecy is truly about Harry."

Dumbledore cast him a sympathetic look and nodded slowly.

"I believe that by choosing to attack Harry this night, Voldemort has marked him," he looked troubled, "All our questions will be answered, no doubt, by finding Harry. I've had Arthur Weasley create a missing persons report for the muggle police, hopefully we will locate your son soon."

"Arthur?" James dimly remembered the red headed man who had been several years above him at Hogwarts, he had had a massive fascination with anything Muggle related, "Wait, isn't he Fabian and Gideon Prewett's brother-in-law?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"I remember him," Sirius muttered, "He's got six kids! Poor fellow."

"Seven," Dumbledore corrected, "Molly gave birth to a baby girl about two months ago."

Sirius gave a low whistle, his expression forlorn.

"I didn't know," James said softly, "A female Weasley. That's a birth that should have been celebrated."

"These have been very dark days," the headmaster said just as quietly, "Though, perhaps somewhat lighter now."

James' head snapped up and his gaze narrowed.

"Not yet," he said firmly, "Not until we find Harry. I want to join the search."

Sirius and Dumbledore both looked at him with surprise.

"James," Sirius began, "Lily-"

"Is more likely to recover when she has her son in her arms," James snapped, then shook himself, "Sorry. I just can't sit here waiting…Harry is my son. I should have been there to protect him. I have to find him now."

"I was there too," Sirius laid his hand on his friend's shoulder, making him look up at him, "Don't you dare blame yourself! We were both fooled."

"I should have let Lily come with us-" James protested weakly.

"Stuff and nonsense," his best friend bit back, "The result would have been about the same, only Harry might be dead right now instead of missing and Lily would be tearing herself up about it."

James looked into his best friend's eyes, and nodded slowly.

"I just wish I knew where he was," James muttered, "He must be so scared…"

 **~HP~**

Harry blinked, the world around him was so dark and cold. He hugged Prongs closer, tears already welling in his eyes. In his other little hand, he held the picture of his mummy. He'd grabbed it when the man had brought the ceiling down and made him fall. His knee hurt from where he'd hit it, his head felt funny and he was scared. So he did the only natural thing in the world, the thing that would make mummy and daddy come for sure.

He cried.

His cries pierced through the air, a perpetual wail of despair and sadness. He wanted his mummy and he wanted his daddy; he wanted Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Mooney, even Uncle Wormtail would have been welcome on a night like this. He sat on the hard, cold ground, a street light over head cast him in shadows and he cried.

Harry didn't know how long he sat there bawling his eyes out, he didn't care, it could have been a few seconds or two hours, he just wanted his mummy. Then something disrupted his tears and he was lifted up from the ground and cradled by warm arms. Harry looked up curiously. A kind old face looked down at him, making hushing sounds. The face wasn't one he knew, but maybe it knew where mummy and daddy went.

"Ma?" he questioned, "Da?"

"Oh you poor dear," the voice was old, like his granny's, "Did someone leave you?"

Harry didn't understand, he just clutched his stag and photo tighter. He was moving all of a sudden, taken away from the street, up some stairs and through a door. The light blinded him for a moment and he whined. The next thing he knew he was being lain down, a warm hand running over his hurt leg, he gave a small cry.

"Its okay," the nice voice said, "Matron Morgan's going to make it all better. What's this?"

She tried to pry the photo from his hands, succeeded for a moment, but Harry only cried harder until he felt the photograph being placed hastily back into his hands.

"There, there," she cooed, "Harry? Is it? That's a nice name Harry, I have a cousin Harry. Welcome to St. Matthew's Harry, I'm sure we'll find you a home soon."

She gently stoked his face, trying to soothe him. He looked at her with scared green eyes and paused as her eyes caught something.

"What a strange scar," she remarked, "Like a bolt of lightning."

Harry's lower lip trembled and he hugged Prongs tighter, he just wanted his mummy to come get him.

 **~HP~**

It was the early hours of the morning, Mrs. Molly Weasley was rocking her two and a half month old daughter in her arms. She yawned, her pink night dress scraping a little on the floor as she tried to stay awake. Her husband, Arthur Weasley, wasn't back yet from his rounds for the Order and to say she was worried was an understatement. Her sons were al asleep upstairs, her ten year old son, Bill, would be attending Hogwarts the next September and she could only pray that the world would be better by then.

"Go to sleep, Ginny," she lulled the tiny baby, "Go back to sleep for mummy."

But Ginny Weasley, youngest and only daughter of the Weasley's, was restless that night and for the life of her, Molly could not fathom why. Her small brown eyes were wide and she stared up at her mother, seemingly on the brink of tears. Molly continued hushing the baby until she calmed down.

"Molly!"

She turned in surprise as her husband rushed through the front door, a joyous look on his face. Molly frowned a little, about to ask him to hush up when she noticed that huge smile.

"Arthur?" she questioned, he was beside her in a trice, carefully hugging her and his daughter in delight.

"He's gone!" he cried, "He's gone, he's gone, he's gone!"

"Whose gone?"

"You-Know-Who!" Arthur laughed, taking Ginny from Molly's arms and swinging her around in happiness, the baby made a soft gurgling sound but didn't cry.

"Are you sure?" Molly asked, wide eyed. She sat down with a thump on the living room coach, trying to take in what he was saying, "He-he's gone?"

"Yes!" Arthur laughed, "I just heard it from Dumbledore himself and I rushed home as quickly as I could. I don't know the facts yet exactly, but I know that right now, this minute, You-Know-Who isn't hurting anybody."

"H-how?"

"Harry Potter," Arthur said, his smile faded a little and he sighed, "I need to go back, I just had to come home and tell you."

"Harry Potter? The Potter's little boy? What does he have to do with this?"

"Everything," Arthur said, handing Ginny back to her mother, "And he's missing, I have to go. I'll be back in a few hours with more news."

"Arthur-" she began.

He smiled, kissing his wife on the cheek and backing away.

"Be ready to celebrate," he said, "The Order has to do some damage control and start the search, but after that, everything will be alright again."

With that, he departed the Weasley household, a skip in his step as he left. Molly watched after him, then turned to the child in her arms. Ginny didn't seem any calmer, but her little eyes were starting to droop and she kept fighting to keep them open.

"Come on, sweetie," she said, rising, "We'll say a prayer together for little Harry and then go to sleep. I do hope they find him."

Ginny Weasley have a small gurgle as though she too agreed with her mother's statement.

 **~HP~**

Lily Potter was lost in her dreams; the pain in her body had long since faded and she felt almost at peace. _Was this death?_ She wasn't sure.

She walked along a beach, the sand crunching between her toes and the cool water of the sea brushing past her feet as its waves hit the shore. Above her there was nothing but the sky at sunrise, dull pink and gold shone above as warmth began to fill the land. She breathed in salty air as the wind tickled her cheek. She couldn't quite recall what had brought her here, but it was _wonderful_.

She looked about, but there was nothing around, just the beach, the sea and rolling sand dunes in the distance. She was alone.

" _Mama!"_

Her head snapped round, searching for the familiar call, but all she could see was the sea and the sky. Frantic, she started running in the direction the voice had come from, splashing into the waves.

"Harry!" she screamed, "Harry, where are you!?"

She was waist deep in the cool, salt water now as she tried to bob over the incoming waves.

" _Ma!"_

Tears stung her eyes, as she trudged deeper into the sea. Eventually she couldn't feel the sand floor beneath her feet and was swimming, spluttering every time a wave hit her face. Her tears mingled with the salty water of the ocean as she cried out, desperate to find her son.

A huge wave crashed over her, propelling her body deep beneath the surface. She screamed, the water filled her lungs and darkness enveloped her. Beyond the roaring in her ears she could still hear Harry crying out for her.

Her eyes snapped open to a dully-lit room. There was an unfamiliar face leaning over her, calling her name. The voice echoed around in her ears briefly before coming into focus.

"Mrs. Potter? Lily, can you hear me? Can you see me?"

The voice was female. Lily's vision blurred a little. She blinked continuously to clear it, thankful as the face finally came into focus.

But she wasn't concentrating on that for long.

"Harry?" she gasped, trying to get up.

Firm hands pushed her back down.

"Hush now," the voice was saying, "You need to stay still. You've lost a lot of blood."

 _Blood._

Her eyes went wide as the memories assaulted her mercilessly. Voldemort at the door, the pain in her body, Harry…

 _The blood ward, had it worked?_

No, she was still alive. It couldn't have worked.

"Harry!" she screamed miserably, feeling hot tears stream down her face, " _No_ …"

Her heart felt like it was breaking. She convulsed on the bed, she had to go, she had to find her baby, and she had to know…

"She's having a panic attack," a clipped voice snapped, "Get a sedative."

Something was forced down her throat, she was held down, still struggling, until she was forced to swallow. Slowly, her muscles seemed to relax and the world began to darken.

"Rest now," the voice said sympathetically.

She slipped into unconsciousness, Harry's cries still ringing in her ears.

While Lily lay recovering in the hospital, James and Sirius joined the countrywide search for Harry, barely stopping to eat or sleep. Remus Lupin, upon waking up that morning, was not only made aware of the terrible events of the night before, but of why he had been so secluded by his friends recently. Not giving away any feeling of betrayal or disappointment on his part, Remus joined the search without question, without explanation and without a second thought. Moody and Dumbledore, later joined by famous alchemist Nicholas Flamel, continued to investigate Voldemort and Harry's disappearances, finally coming to a more solid conclusion to the events of that night.

Unfortunately, an avid young reporter by the name of Rita Skeeter, seeking to make a name for herself and willing to do just about anything, managed to mangle out this information. She acclaimed Harry as the defeater of the Dark Lord, revealing him to be the only known survivor of the Killing Curse.

All over England, people celebrated the fall of their enemy; people celebrated the name Harry Potter. Owls were seen in numerous flocks all over Britain and shooting stars had the muggles looking for an astronomical phenomenon. During the weeks that followed, every magical citizen of the United Kingdom was on high alert for the missing Saviour. No one was spared searching, but eventually, some gave up, certain that the small boy had died that night with Voldemort. But many, many people still chanted the name of Harry Potter, _The-Boy-Who-Lived_.


	2. Chapter 2

You've been up and down, down

You've been low, low, low

Troubled seas so deep, troubled home no sleep

You've been flying so high

Avoiding the road

Pretending to not feel alone

\- _Vagabond_ by Mister Wives

 **Our Little Vagabond**

The past of one Harry James Potter could be called tragic by some, unfortunate by others and a 'right darn shame' by a more literal few. Of course, the past of Harry Green might be just as bad, especially as the two were one in the same. Harry, being the unfortunate possessor of this terribly unfair past, didn't know the difference. He had grown up quite unaware of the rather nasty fate he and Harry James Potter shared, for it had been twelve years since he had borne the name. To reiterate, if you asked Harry Green who Harry James Potter was, he could quite honestly tell you that he did not know.

But this of course, would not be the truth.

He laid spread out on his bed admiring the picture in his hand, if you could call it a bed that was. The thin mattress, horribly worn and stale smelling, that separated the twelve-year-old from the ground was hardly what one would call a bed, but it was better than most surfaces he had slept on his life. It was snowing outside, but the shelter had central heating, which was why he liked it for this time of year.

The shelter he partly lived in was one he frequented often, leaving anytime he got wind of Child Services poking around. Any place was better than being sent back to the orphanage he had lived in until running away for the first time at the age of ten.

Harry didn't consider himself to be disadvantaged by his predicament either, he worked and he earned money doing odd jobs for people. Sometimes the begging areas were good too and he had made more than a few friends out here that would let him bunk with them. And he was lucky, _very lucky_.

It was one of the funny things about Harry. He just always seemed to be able to _find_ things when he needed them. Food, money and even clothes. He'd be walking down a back alley, shivering with cold, only to see someone had thrown out a perfectly good winter coat, just lying on top of the bin, still clean. Or he'd find a twenty-pound note in his backpack when he couldn't recall ever putting it there at all. He even remembered sitting at a bus stop, staring hungrily at the brown paper MacDonald's bag someone was carrying. Suddenly, he'd put it down and walked away, leaving the untouched takeaway meal behind. Harry had run after him, but the man seemed utterly perplexed, telling Harry he must be mistaken.

None of these were particularly odd on their own, but they happened to Harry an awful lot. But then, very odd things tended to happen to him regardless.

So there he lay, looking longingly at the photograph in his hand, the only item and personal possession he had ever owned apart from a stuffed deer. It had been his for as long as he could remember.

It was special. _Why?_ Well, it moved.

Harry smiled as the red haired woman in the hospital gown cooed her baby again, brushed a lock of hair from her face and kissed the newborn's forehead, laughing and smiling as she did. Each action was familiar, recognized. Probably because this was the millionth time he had watched this scene, but each time felt like the first. He turned over the picture, running his finger over the neat, looped handwriting in the corner of the back.

 **Lily and Harry**

 **31st July 1980**

 **Maternity Ward**

 **St. Mungo's Hospital**

Harry sighed and looked back at the photograph again, his eyes scanning the face of the young redhead. She had to be Lily. He guessed that he was the baby. He'd been named for it after all, when they found him the picture had been clasped in his little hand, a stuffed deer in the other. The social workers had tried to find this _St. Mungo's Hospital_ , but apparently no record of the place existed. They thought it was a joke.

They'd tried to remove the picture from Harry, but he never let them. As a babe he'd stare at it all day, oddly comforted by the woman he had been told he referred to as 'Ma,' or 'Mama.'

He cried when he couldn't hold the picture, which was why it was so folded and worn. It was the only thing that calmed him down though, the sight of his mother's young face.

He wondered if she was alive, if she had looked for him. He had her eyes, he wondered if he had his dad's hair, since his wasn't red. Was his father's hair also black, messy and uncontrollable? He wondered what his dad looked like, what _they_ were like. Were they dead, or had they abandoned him? Maybe something terrible had happened and they were forced to give him up? If they were alive, had they forgotten him already? _Did they miss him?_

Thousands of questions had always shot through his mind like a speeding bullet whenever he thought about his parents. Long ago Harry had learned to push them away and bring himself back to reality, but that didn't stop him from dreaming about it. Turning over onto his side, he placed the photograph gently beside him.

It only moved for him, no one else had ever seen it do so and he had learned from a young age never to mention that it did. Smiling, he removed his duct-taped glasses, lay down on his old pillow and closed his eyes. Briefly his hand came up to brush the messy hair from his forehead, pausing on the small lightning bolt-shaped scar there.

 _Another mystery_ , he thought as he sank into a restless sleep.

 **~HP~**

Lily Potter's cheeks puffed out as she sighed tiredly and put on her jacket. She wore plain black pants and a white blouse accompanied by sensible heels and light, natural looking make-up. She brushed through her long red hair, trying to look presentable.

 _Normal._

She glanced at her watch, it was nearly time for her and Ally, her eleven-year-old daughter, to leave. She knew that the visit was possibly pointless, but the message she'd received from her sister had seemed so strange, so-

 _Unlike Petunia._

She wished she could put on a better pair of shoes or at least wear a more comfortable top. At the age of thirty-six, Lily was convinced there was no reason she should be dressing in anyway like her older sister. Skirts and blouses she loved, petticoats and frills reminded her too much of how her mother would dress in her later years. An old woman's look; which was exactly how Lily felt about her older sister's dress code.

 _And she thinks I'm abnormal._

She picked up a photograph on her dressing table and smiled, it was of her, James and little Ally as a toddler, sitting in a park and smiling up at the camera. Lily didn't know what would have happened if Ally had never been born.

It had been difficult at first. James had been angry, so angry when they found out.

The healers had confirmed Lily was into her second trimester, which had floored the young woman. She hadn't thought she was that far along! A month, maybe two, she had thought and even then she hadn't been sure she was pregnant.

Her pregnancy was a difficult one, forcing her to stay in St. Mungo's and even then, Ally had been almost eight weeks premature. The blood loss caused by Voldemort's curse and the magic she had poured into protecting Harry had weakened her considerably. It had made even moving a chore for a long time.

All the while, James divided his time between searching for their son, hunting Death Eaters and sitting by her bedside. He tried not to distress her, but arguments inevitably ensued. Sometimes though, he'd come too tired to even speak and just curled into the bed with her, holding her like he was afraid she'd leave him. More often than not neither one of them could speak, too absorbed in their own feelings of grief and guilt.

And then came this tiny, mewling, red-faced little creature with hazel green eyes and no hair to speak of on her little head. For days, neither one of them could even bear to look at her. How could they? How could this small, spindly thing ever replace the child they had lost? It felt like a betrayal. An awful betrayal of their precious son.

Lily cried most of the time, missing Harry and ashamed for being afraid to love her own daughter. James would just stare at nothing, no expression on his pale face, until he'd force himself to go back out and look for Harry again. They could barely look at each other anymore.

All that was keeping them together at that point, was the obligation they each felt to the tiny life they had created together.

Perhaps they would have broken then, it had been such a close thing.

 _One day, James sat in Lily's hospital room, staring out the window. Lily was looking dejectedly up at the ceiling; too weak and stressed to muster up a word. Then, there was movement. She looked round to see her husband moving over to the cot that held their infant daughter. She tensed, unsure of what he was doing._

 _He stared down at the baby for a long time. All was still in the hospital ward outside. Then James bent down and picked up the little bundle, holding her gently to his chest and rocking her. Lily watched in wonder as an expression she hadn't seen since the day they'd lost Harry came into his face._

 _He looked round and spotted her staring. He walked over and sat at her bedside, turning so that the baby was facing her. Lily shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to look down at the tiny face and feel the rush of guilt again._

" _She looks like my mum," James said finally, a small, long forgotten grin appearing on his face, "Don't you think?"_

 _Lily finally caved, no longer able to resist. She looked down at her daughter's face and truly studied it for the first time. She was still too small to have any really identifiable features, but Lily thought she had her deceased mother-in-law's narrow face and wide mouth that always seemed ready to smile._

" _Yes," she chocked out, now not able to tear her eyes away, "She – she's beautiful, isn't she?"_

 _He stared at her, eyes watery._

" _Yes," he sounded as chocked up as she was, "She is."_

 _Lily tried to smile._

" _We're not naming her Euphemia," she said, trying to sound light._

 _James actually laughed._

" _No," he agreed, and said soberly, "What – what about Rose?"_

 _Lily hesitated. She wanted to honour her mother for the sacrifice she had made, but she just couldn't imagine dealing with the pain of calling her daughter Rose._

" _Middle name," she said finally, "I just can't-"_

 _She didn't have to finish. Holding the baby with one arm, he used his free hand to gently pat hers._

" _Okay, Miss Something Rose Potter still needs a name then," he teased._

" _Allison," Lily said finally, "Before we knew Harry was – well I always liked it. It means 'noble,' like James."_

 _James stared at her with so much warmth and love in that moment, Lily burst into tears. He moved in beside her, all the time careful with their little girl, and hugged her close._

" _Allison Rose Potter," he said, "I like it."_

 _Lily smiled and bent forward to kiss her daughter's tiny forehead and whisper 'I love you.'_

 _They stayed like that for a while, Lily taking Alison into her own arms so that James could get more comfortable._

" _She's going to be an awesome little sister," James said, "Harry's going to be so surprised."_

 _Lily nodded._

 _Very suddenly, Allison became their hope for a future that had a home full of smiles and warmth. She wanted to see it, that day when both her children tore through the house to fetch their brooms, fought over the last piece of pudding, or tackled James as he came home from work._

" _Remus can be godfather this time," she said, "So that both he and Sirius get a turn."_

" _I'm sure he'd like that," James nodded._

 _The three Potters held onto each other, happy to exist in their own happy bubble, for just a little while._

She smiled, setting the photograph down and picked up the one positioned beside it. Almost identical, except it showed a laughing one year old Harry Potter sitting up on his dad's shoulders. James was smiling and laughing too, his hazel eyes bright. Lily stood next to them, looking up at Harry adoringly and smiling, James' arm wrapped around her waist.

"Harry," she whispered, that dull pain squeezed her heart again as she put it down, "Another Christmas without you, my beautiful boy."

It was still hard. Thinking of that adorable face, remembering those green eyes and the smile that lit with every moment she spent with him. She closed her own pair, willing away the tears. She would never give up searching, not really. She knew that every time she spied a boy with dark hair or green eyes, her heart would just about burst with hope. She also knew that the disappointment would then make her feel like she was dying inside. How many times had whispers promised her son, only to lead to nothing? How many faces had she seen, children had she talked to, before realizing none could be her son?

She remembered those first few years and all the false reports and imposters she and James had had to deal with. The whole search had created such a huge hype that seemed to bring out crazies from all walks of wizarding and even muggle society. Though perhaps, it was their mistake to offer a reward for any information leading to their son. Lily couldn't even remember the amount of toddlers that had been pushed into her face as an excited individual proclaimed it was Harry.

The search had stretched across the magical and non-magical world for two years before everyone seemed to give up. She remembered having to stand up before a muggle news crew and announce that her son was missing. She remembered the frenzy of reporters and well-wishers.

Unfortunately, in the aftermath of Voldemort's defeat, most of the Ministry and indeed the muggle authorities' attention had been divided with restoring Britain and capturing the remains of the Death Eaters. Even James hadn't been spared.

Families were still being attacked, the Longbottoms only a few days after Halloween. James had always blamed himself for not getting there sooner.

The confusion had not aided in the hunt for her son, Lily believed it had permanently hindered it.

When she had woken up from the hospital she had been terrified and already grieving, sure beyond anything that she had failed Harry. The blood protection hadn't worked; she had still been alive.

Dumbledore had been the first person she talked to. He had explained everything, sending her into a fit of half relieved, half worry filled tears. He also explained his belief of why Harry was alive and asked her about the spell she had used.

It hadn't been a spell, not exactly. There were just some forces, some deeper magics that no one truly understood. She'd found mentions of it, had asked questions about it, but she hadn't known she could actually do it until that night. Its use was rare and even rarer was cases where it had worked. The handful she could find were not even sure what had happened, much of it being completely accidental. Wizards who had tried to replicate the effect ended up losing their lives without success.

It was a blood ward, a very powerful one. She knew that much, but it was something that couldn't be done without will or sacrifice.

But even she hadn't anticipated its effectiveness.

To repel the Killing Curse…She had never even imagined it would do that. It had been her last option; her final choice and she had thought she would never know it had worked.

But it had not taken her life.

Instead, it had taken the life of her mother, Rose Evans. In her final moments, Rose's thoughts and intentions must have been solely on protecting Harry and she had poured herself into that task. Lily's magic had created the ward, but her mother had perished before her, sealing it around Harry.

They'd been stumped in figuring out why she had survived, until her pregnancy became known. Though Lily had been perfectly willing to sacrifice her life for her son, the choice hadn't been hers alone. Another life lived inside her and it was growing and trying desperately to live. It did not want to die that night. It stubbornly held onto Lily, held onto life with all it could. But Lily's magic held true, seeking out another price to take. If Rose Evans had not been there to sacrifice her own life for her grandson, the blood ward would never have sealed and might have even backfired in unimaginable ways.

She still felt a mix of gratefulness and guilt to this day. She had lost her mother, but she was alive, her daughter was alive and her son was still alive and out there. She just couldn't find him, at least, not magically.

Dumbledore had said he'd tried, but there was something blocking any magical attempts to find Harry. He surmised that maybe the blood ward had something to do with it, but without any previous precedent to study, he could not be sure. Thus, their search continued.

James' reaction to finding out his wife had tried to sacrifice her life that night had not been good.

 _She was lying on her hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling, feeling too numb to move. Her eyes stung with unshed tears and she felt like there was a gaping hole in her heart. The healers had managed to heal all the cuts on her body without even a scar, but her sudden loss of blood and magic had left her weakened._

" _Lily?"_

 _She turned over at the soft voice by her side. She hadn't even heard him approach. She found herself staring into the tired and hurt eyes of her husband. He had been almost happy a few hours ago when she had first woken up and they had spent a good hour just hugging each other and grieving their loss, before James had been drawn away to help with the search again. They hadn't really spoken, but it seemed like he wanted to do so now._

" _Dumbledore told me about the blood ward," he said in a hoarse whisper._

 _Her stomach seemed to drop. Her husband, for all the charm he could lay on when he wanted to, was notorious for his lack of tact. If something was bothering James, there was no beating around the bush about it._

 _She didn't have the energy to scold him._

" _Why?" she could see tears gathering in his eyes, "You told Dumbledore but you didn't…Why didn't you tell me?"_

" _I-I don't-" she struggled to sit up and he was by her side immediately, helping her into a more comfortable position. She nodded to him gratefully before she continued, "I don't know…It was only meant as a last resort and I didn't want you to worry I would ever use it."_

" _But you did use it," he shook his head, "You almost died and now I find out you were trying to will it that way? Lily, do you have any idea what I would have done if I had lost both of you?"_

" _James-" she started, but he cut her off, anger dancing in his eyes._

" _No Lily," he said forcefully, "You should have told me. If you were even thinking of using_ _ **that**_ _, even as a last resort, you should have told me. You're my wife, Harry is our son and the decision to resort to-to that kind of magic should have been made together."_

" _I couldn't," she was sobbing now, "Ever since that awful prophecy was made you've been taking everything on yourself! It's been like you think you're to blame for it all. I couldn't put another burden on you James, I just couldn't…"_

 _She gasped a little when his arms went around her, pulling her tightly against his chest. He was sitting on the bed beside her, wrapped up around her, his chest heaving with suppressed tears. She pulled him in to her too, needing to feel his warmth, needing to know he was beside her._

" _Its no burden," James assured her, speaking into her ear so she couldn't see his face, "You're my world Lils, you and Harry. What you did saved his life and I can never be mad at you for that… But you lied to me and I just can't- I just can't get the image of you lying on the ground, covered in all that blood out of my head. I thought you were gone! All I wanted to do was lie down and die right next to you."_

 _She stiffened and started crying, heaving as the heart breaking sobs left her body. All the time James held her. Eventually, her cries died down and he drew back from her, wiping away her tears with his thumb._

" _No more secrets between us, 'kay?" he murmured, his gaze serious, "And you're not allowed to scare me like that. Ever."_

 _She nodded miserably._

" _I'm sorry!"_

" _For such a smart witch, you sure don't think," he grumbled softly._

" _I'm sorry," she hiccupped, "I'm sorry."_

 _He sighed tiredly, leaning his forehead on hers._

" _I know," then, with a spark of the old James Potter in his eyes, he added, "But if you ever do it again, I'm sic'ing Padfoot on you."_

 _She let out a bitter chuckle, which was quickly enveloped by another hiccup. She tried to smile, but there was something missing from James' gaze that made her heart skip a beat. She could see all the love and pain in there, but something very important was missing, something she had taken for granted._

 _Trust._

 _She had lost some of her husband's trust that night and she knew it was going to be a long road getting it back again. If she could at all._

 _A few hours later, the healer came in to tell her she was pregnant._

Memories had a funny way of sneaking up on you and reminding you of all the guilt and pain you felt in that moment. Lily wished she could let it go, but even all these years later, she still felt terrible about it. Eventually, she had regained James' trust, but it had been a hard, uphill struggle for both of them.

Over eleven years were taking their toll, over eleven years of searching and finding nothing.

 _But how could she ever give up?_

"I'm sorry, Harry," she whispered, turning away from the picture and blinking away the growing sting in her eyes.

"Ally!" she called, "Its time to go!"

A skinny, dark haired child with big, hazel green eyes and a narrow face appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a Puddlemere United Quidditch jumper and jeans, her hands buried deep inside her pockets. She watched her mother expectantly, shuffling her feet about.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To see your Aunt Petunia," Lily tried to keep the irritation over the prospect out of her voice, "I don't think you'll remember her, you met her when you very small."

Ally scrounged up her nose in thought.

"Isn't she the one Dad calls the 'Old Nag?'"

Lily closed her eyes in frustration, silently thinking of ways to repay her husband for this later.

"Just grab your coat," she sighed.

 **~HP~**

"Harry! Harry wake up! You need to get going!"

Harry dragged himself from the vestiges of sleep, feeling someone shaking him. It was Robin, an older man with sad drooping eyes who tended to look after the younger strays and runaways. He was usually the one who warned them when Child Services was making a sweep.

Harry didn't pause to argue. He knew the drill. He rushed out of bed, grabbed his backpack and his coat, shoved his cap on his head and ran.

"Thanks!" he called over his shoulder and shoved the window at the end of the corridor open to escape through.

He stumbled through into heavy snow. It was still early morning and everything around him was white. He gasped as the cold suddenly hit him, but didn't stop, darting out into the street and disappearing from sight.

He might as well get an early start to the day. He headed towards one of the local soup kitchens for some breakfast and then caught a bus to Little Whinging, Surrey.

The reason he was headed there was to take a job. Harry tended to travel the suburban neighborhoods, offering to shovel out driveways and finish odd jobs for a tenner or so. He'd even had a paper round in one village for a while, before people started asking questions. Most people were very obliging, but some shut the door in his face and the odd one actually asked to speak to his parents. The third type he quickly avoided.

But one Mrs. Dursley had approached him as he was shoveling snow out from her neighbour's garden, offering him a whole _fifty_ pounds to sort out her garden shed for her. She said they needed somewhere to hide her 'Dudder's' Christmas presents where he couldn't find them and there just wasn't enough room at the moment.

Harry wondered just how many presents this 'Dudders' was getting.

Still, far be for him to judge, money was money after all.

He'd been a little sure of accepting at first; Mrs. Dursley seemed to be staring at him rather intently when she spoke to him. She was a tall, horse faced woman with a sour, disapproving expression on her face. But _fifty whole pounds_! How could he say no?

He sat in the bus, glad to have avoided a run in this morning. He tried to avoid situations where he felt trapped or afraid, because that was when something else peculiar would sometimes happen.

An _Incident_.

 _Incidents_ were what he called the unexplainable episodes when he was in one place and then very suddenly found himself somewhere else entirely, with no idea how he had gotten there. All he would remember was a funny, dragging sensation in his gut and a feeling like every part of his body was being constricted. He _hated_ it. He'd arrive, gasping for breath and terrified someone had seen him suddenly appearing.

He found that it usually happened when he was scared. Like the time he was running away from a policeman and ended up on the other side of London in a second. All he had wanted was to _get away._

And sometimes, it _hurt_. He'd find a chunk of his hair or a fingernail had been ripped out. He even had a scar on his left arm from where a long, thin piece of his skin had been peeled off. He didn't understand why it happened, or why it only happened sometimes and not others, but it was a very big reason he didn't want another _Incident_ to occur.

As Harry learned from a very early age, these odd things that happened to him meant he was a _freak_. Enough science fiction movies had told Harry very clearly what happened to people who did things others couldn't explain.

They were imprisoned, studied and experimented on.

Harry wasn't going to let that happen to him, no one was catching him ever again.

When he arrived at Number Four Private Drive, Harry knocked on the door hesitantly. A big, beefy boy answered the door, looking grumpy.

 _This_ , Harry thought, _must be the infamous 'Dudders_.'

Harry forced a smile, introduced himself and asked to see Mrs. Dursley. The beefy boy eyed him suspiciously, and then yelled into the house for his mother. After that, it all seemed to go rather smoothly. Mr. Dursley, of course, came by to warn Harry not to 'muck about' with anything and be careful with his tools.

The garden shed was messy, but definitely not cluttered enough to stop someone from hiding a few presents in there. Once again, Harry wondered just how big these Christmas presents were or how many there were.

"She was probably just exaggerating," he mused to himself, sure that no one was _that_ spoiled.

It was a cold, but fresh day. Harry got to work quickly, eager to finish and find somewhere warm to stay for the rest of the day. At least he'd have a little extra spending money for a hot meal. His mouth watered and he occupied his mind from the tedious task by deciding what he wanted for dinner that night.

 **~HP~**

At half past twelve, Lily and Ally arrived at Petunia's home, stepping briskly through the snow. Ally kept a hold of her mother's hand, seeming unsure about the whole trip. Her mother put on a brave smile as she knocked on the door and they were both led into the house. Ally was introduced to her cousin; an event neither party seemed pleased with and encouraged to _go play_ , leaving the two sisters alone in the sitting room.

Lily took the seat that was offered to her, it was the first time in a long time that the two had spoken face to face. Since their mother's funeral, things had been especially difficult. Lily remembered that day vividly, the sadness and the despair.

" _Its your fault they're dead," her sister had screeched, "Just like dad, she died because of your freakishness! Your stupid world!"_

Lily bit her lip, watching Petunia carefully; she sat very stiffly, trying to avoid looking at Lily. Finally she sighed and started to speak.

"How has your-your family been?" she started, clearly trying to keep her voice steady.

"Fine," said Lily, clearly surprised by her sister's sudden change in demeanor, "Ally's starting school next year and James just got a new promotion. How are Dudley and Vernon? Does he still work for that drill company?"

"Yes," said Petunia shortly, "He does, worked himself up quite well. Dudley is doing well at school too. He wants to start boxing after Christmas."

"That's good," said Lily, "Its always nice when boys have a sport they enjoy."

"Yes," Petunia agreed stiffly, "He'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"

Lily blinked. She knew whom her sister was talking about and she nodded, her throat closing up a little at the mention.

"Twelve," she said softly, biting on her lower lip. Petunia sighed.

"I don't like you," she said slowly, "I don't understand or trust your world. I've never been happy with your choice of husband, I don't agree with what you became when you went to that school-"

"Petunia-"

"Let me finish!" the older woman snapped, "I still blame you, Lily, for mum and dad's deaths, for their favoritism of you and for the fact that they just loved to have something as freakish as a witch in the family."

Lily could feel her anger growing, she started to rise, but Petunia raised a hand to stop her.

"Whatever I think of you, Lily," she said finally, "I would not wish on any mother to lose her child like you did."

Lily stopped in shock, staring at her sister. Surely she had misheard, but did Petunia actually just say something… _comforting_?

"When I first saw him, I wasn't sure," she said, taking a deep breath, "But – but Lily he has your eyes. He has your eyes and he looks exactly like that man you married. I don't know if its him, but I thought it best you check for yourself."

"What are you talking about?" Lily frowned.

"There's a boy cleaning out my garden shed," Petunia looked distinctly uncomfortable, "I think he's your son."

Lily stared.

"W-what?" she exclaimed.

That was when Vernon started yelling.

 **~HP~**

Harry's peaceful reverie was interrupted by voices.

"But Dad!" it was Dudders, "I don't want to make a snow man. And certainly not with her!"

"Come now Dudley," Mr. Dursley was saying, "It just for a little while. I have an important business call and I can't have any distractions. I'll be right in the house if you need me. And _you_ , behave yourself, I'll have none of that…freakishness on my property."

A younger, female voice responded.

"Yes Uncle Vernon."

There was the sound of the back door closing.

"Well I can see why Dad found _him_ so funny," the girl remarked after a few minutes of silence had passed.

"What do you mean by that?" Dudley said angrily, "You say anything bad about Dad, I'll make you sorry!"

The girl said something else, but her voice was too low for Harry to hear. He ignored it and carried on working, reaching up to shift a box off a shelf. He gave a start and nearly dropped it when a rather large, scruffy looking grey rat crawled out from under it.

It did a very funny thing when it came out. It just looked at him, sitting completely still and just looking at him through beady little eyes. Harry felt an odd sensation in his stomach, like the kind you got when you were alone and didn't feel safe because you thought someone was watching nearby. He'd felt it many times in his life and had learned it was always best to trust his gut feeling.

"Shoo!" he said, waving a hand at the rat, "Off with you! I'm cleaning!"

The rat ignored him though, continuing to stare.

Harry wasn't sure what to do, when he heard a cry from outside.

"Let go of me!"

Harry wanted to ignore it at first. Jumping into things had always gotten him into trouble in the past, but the voice sounded genuinely afraid. He set down the box he had been holding, stared sullenly at the rat and walked out of the shed.

He found Dudley twisting a young, dark haired girl's arm behind her back.

"Oi!" he yelled, "Leave her alone!"

Dudley looked surprised for a long moment, and then sent a glare his way.

"Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"

What _was_ Harry going to do about it? Dudley was at least twice his size and could probably knock him into next week. The last time Harry had tried to stand up to some bully hadn't ended very well for him and he's learned quickly that it was best to runaway, especially if he wanted to avoid anything _strange_ happening around him.

But he looked at the teary faced girl and something hot shot through him, making him remember something important.

He _really_ hated bullies.

"I said, let her go!" he snarled, moving forward to break them apart.

What he didn't expect was for Dudley to let go of the girl and grab him! One of his meaty hands clenched around Harry's arm like a metal vice, squeezing painfully.

"You're gonna pay for-" he started.

But Harry didn't give him a chance.

He kicked Dudley hard in the stomach, knocking the wind from him. The big boy doubled over, wheezing, but didn't release Harry. He looked up, blue eyes bulging with rage. Again, Harry didn't hesitate; he swung a punch at the larger boy's face, his fist coming into contact with his nose. There was a sickening _crack_ and Dudley stumbled backwards, holding his broken nose as blood gushed out.

He stared at Harry, shocked and then started to wail.

Almost immediately, the back door crashed open and Vernon Dursley thundered out, his face turning purple with rage.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" he looked from Dudley to Harry, "YOU! HOW DARE YOU!"

Now Harry was in trouble. Dudley was a big guy, but Mr. Dursley was a _giant_ in comparison and Harry knew there was no chance against _that_.

He turned and ran, reaching the garden gate and fumbling with the catch, hoping against hope that it wouldn't give the man the opportunity to catch him. He heard a thump and dared to look round.

The girl had dived at her uncle's legs, grabbing him around the left calf and causing him to trip face first into the snow. From somewhere in the house Harry could faintly hear Mrs. Dursley screaming in confusion. The little girl looked up and stared at Harry, frowning at his hesitation.

"Go!" she cried, "What in Merlin's name are you waiting for? Go!"

Not questioning her direction or her odd reference to a mythical wizard, Harry shoved the gate open. As he ran, too caught up in the drive to get away, he didn't hear a woman crying out his name or the shouting match that commenced in the Dursley's back garden.

All he could think really was, _so much for that fifty pounds_.

 **~HP~**

Peter Pettigrew snuck away as soon as he recognized Lily Potter coming out of the Dursley's home. Having been on the run for close to twelve years, Pettigrew had learned the best places to go. He'd stayed with a wizarding family for a time, until they started to get suspicious by how long their common garden rat was living. Then he'd circulated his time between different locations, always as a rat. The Dursley's garden shed was one of his most frequent haunts in the winter, where he had been able to make himself a very comfortable nest on one of the top shelves. The strain between Lily and Petunia meant it was one of the last places in the world anyone would look for him.

So imagine his surprise when none other than a little boy who looked remarkably like his old friend James Potter had disturbed his rest. A James Potter look alike who stared at him with Lily's very distinctive bright green eyes.

The anger and disappointment of a decade had hit Peter all at once. If it weren't for this _boy_ he would be great right now! Not living off scraps and in garden sheds like nothing.

 _He hated this boy!_

It had been too close, much too close to Lily finding her son. He could only be thankful that oaf of a muggle had caused a disturbance. He wanted the Mudblood bitch to suffer and he wanted his so-called friends to suffer. He wanted all of them to suffer!

He'd deal with Harry himself. Yes, that was it! He'd deal with the runt himself! The stupid boy who had taken his future from him, the boy who had killed his master and set Peter's friends against him.

And maybe if Harry Potter were permanently gone, everything would be okay again! But killing him would be too good for the brat; no he wanted James and Lily to hurt. To have Harry back, but never truly have him. _Yes, yes! That was it!_ And _she_ would help him do it. _She_ had helped him before, after all.

Years of hiding and self-pity had taken their toll on Peter Pettigrew, in the worst way possible.

Realizing it was too difficult to move in the snow as a rat, Peter transformed, no longer caring who saw him. He had plans to make after all and a boy to destroy.

 **~HP~**

"James! James!"

James Potter looked up wearily from his desk, his hazel eyes going squint from the mountain of paper work he had just shifted through. _Damn_ Frank Longbottom and his tactlessness, he had become as bad as Mad Eye in the last few years.

"What is it Sirius?" he asked, fighting back a yawn.

"Message from one of Dumbledore's spies," the dog animagus said hurriedly, "She sighted Pettigrew in Little Whinging!"

"What?!" James roared, rearing to his feet, "When?!"

"Half an hour ago," Sirius had a manic kind of smile on his face, "James, if we hurry-"

"Lily and Ally were going to see Petunia today!" James, yelled, already out from behind his desk, "We're going now!"

Sirius paled, his grey eyes growing wide as he followed his partner out. James barked orders to one of the Aurors as he passed.

"Higgins!" he called over his shoulder, "You're in charge until I get back! Call Longbottom and Burrows back in, tell them to stand by in case we need back up. Wait for my Patronus!"

"Yes Acting Chief!" Higgins saluted.

James bit back a sigh. With Moody threatening to retire _yet again_ , he'd been moved up to temporarily act as Head Auror until things settled down. It _should_ be Frank Longbottom, who had far more seniority that James, but the man had become too unpredictable as of late, often having to be reined in.

Lucky James, he'd been given the most annoying job in history, dealing with _Frank Longbottom_.

The two old friends, now partners, set out to an Apparition point, their black robes flying out behind them. James was almost running. They'd been after Pettigrew for so long now without success, this was the first bit of news they'd had about him in _years_.

"Sir! Sir!"

james stopped, seeing one of the secretaries, Sarah he thought her name was, chasing after him.

"Sir! You're wife just sent a message for you! She said it was urgent!"

So maybe Lily had seen Pettigrew too, he mused and nodded.

"Tell her I'm already on it," he said, "And I don't have a moment to lose!"

"But-" she started.

Too late, James was already gone.

 **~HP~**

Harry had finally stopped running, ducking into a service tunnel to find some shelter from the cold. He sat down, panting hard and took off his cap to run a hand through his sweat-drenched hair. What had he been thinking?

So much for a hot meal of his choice tonight.

As though bidden, Harry's stomach gave a growl. He reached over and dug into his backpack for the half bag of crisps he's been saving. Lucky for him, Harry never took off his backpack when he was out, which held his only possessions in it. As he munched on the cheesy flavoured crisps, he thought back to what happened and reminded himself to scratch Little Whinging off his list of _okay_ neighbourhoods.

By the time he had finished, he saw it was snowing again outside the tunnel. With a sigh, he sat back down, huddling up on himself to keep warm. He took out the picture of his mother again, staring at her while he waited for the worst of it to pass. He closed his eyes, summoning his imagination to take him somewhere else entirely, so that just for a little while, he could pretend to not feel so alone.

Harry dint know how much time passed, only that the short winter day was growing dark when he heard someone call his name. His head snapped up and he saw a man walking towards him. He was short, not much taller than Harry, had grubby looking skin, watery eyes and pointed nose. His hair was colourless and balding and his clothes were old a tattered. He was smiling at Harry as he approached.

Harry felt his stomach squirm and rushed to his feet, stuffing his picture back in the brim of his cap and shoving it on his head.

"Harry, Harry," the man's voice was _squeaky_ , like a mouse, "Its okay, I'm a friend."

The already cold air seemed to drop a few degrees as the younger boy realized there were odd-looking figures gliding towards them from one of the tunnel's entrances. They were taller than anyone Harry had ever seemed, dressed in long black cloaks that slithered over the concrete ground as they moved.

"How do you know my name?" Harry asked, backing away.

"I know a lot about you," the man sneered, "Why don't you come closer so I can tell you?"

But the warning bells were ringing in Harry's head. He turned and ran.

"Foolish boy!" he heard the man yell, "After him! Take him! He's yours!"

Harry shivered, feeling a dark cloud moving over him. He looked down the tunnel and saw the figures moving towards him. He reached the stairs when the monsters – for Harry had no other way to describe them – fell upon him. He found he couldn't move, like he had been frozen in place. He heard yells from the other side of the tunnel and a very loud popping sound, followed by an unfamiliar voice letting out a string of swear words. But Harry was only vaguely aware of this, because everything around him was growing darker and colder.

He gasped; it was like ever happy thought he had was being sucked out of him. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. Cold, darkness, despair, negative feelings engulfed him, and his ears started ringing. Unwanted memories crashing into him like a sea on the rocks.

 _Being called a freak. Matron Hilary's sneering face. No one wanted to adopt him. Being teased in school. Freak! Homeless! Unwanted!_

" _Harry!"_

 _Screaming._

" _Leave him alone! He's a child!"_

" _Avada Kadavra!"_

 _Green light_

 _Nothing._

" _Expecto Patronum_!" a voice yelled behind him. A silvery mass charged off in front of Harry, chasing the hooded monsters away. Harry blinked. The silvery light engulfed the entire tunnel for a moment and then it was gone. They were all gone.

"You alright kid?" came the voice again, Harry looked up into the strikingly grey eyes of a tall man with long, dark hair and a rather elegant look about him. He offered Harry a hand up, which he accepted gratefully.

"I-I'm fine," Harry said shakily, "W-what were those things? That silver light too, I-"

"Not important," the man said quickly, handing Harry something, "It's chocolate, it will help. _Eat_."

Harry hesitated, but after seeing the man put a piece into his own mouth, Harry mimicked him and found he immediately felt warmer inside. He gave the man a weak smile.

"That's some chocolate," he said, "Thanks."

The man grinned back gently.

"You're most welcome."

Harry nodded, realizing it was dark already.

"I'd better get going," he said, "I have a bus to catch."

The man frowned.

"I could walk you home?" he offered.

Harry blanched.

"No, no!" he said quickly, "I can take care of myself, thanks."

The man nodded and sighed. He drew up a small stick and pointed it at Harry's head. Harry blinked in surprise, not knowing how to react.

"Sorry about this," said the man sadly, " _Oblivi_ -"

He stopped. A creeping cold had come upon them again, the man's eyes widened and he visibly paled. Harry turned in the direction the man was staring. At least five of those hooded creatures were headed toward them.

" _Expecto Patronum_!" the man yelled again, sending the silver light bursting from the stick and chasing after the creatures.

"Run!" he cried, grabbing Harry and pulling him with him. But as they turned around they came face to face with yet another one of the monsters. The screams were starting in Harry's ears again, the man raised he stick to send another light, but the monster was too quick. It hit him, sending him against a wall and knocking him unconscious. The thing then turned to Harry. He didn't think he'd ever been more terrified in his life.

He looked for a weapon. Anything he could use to drive it away. He spotted the stick, it was right near him, moving as quickly as he dared he bent down and grabbed it. He pointed it at the monster, nothing happened.

Darkness began to encroach in on his vision. He stumbled back, falling over the man's unconscious form. The monster glided closer to him and he felt like everything was being sucked out of him. All happiness, all joy and hope, all life.

He vaguely heard a groan.

The man was still awake! Strength surged through Harry and he threw himself over him, squeezing his eyes shut. This man had tried to help him and he couldn't leave him! He had to save them both, _somehow…_ If there was ever a time for an _Incident_ to happen, now was it.

 _We have to escape!_ He cried in his head _, take us away! Take us away! Away! Away! Away!_

The monsters were getting closer and closer.

Harry's very being shrunk and expanded all at once. Everything constricted and he couldn't breathe. He kept a tight hold of the man, burying his hands into his robes as he felt the awful dragging sensation take hold. He heard a deafening _crack_ and there was nothing but darkness.

 **~HP~**

A/N: So, I've taken out the whole 'Chamber of Secrets' thing, because the only reason it existed was 1) me inserting too many canon things into an AU and 2) my own teenage assertion that there _must_ be a pairing in everything I write. Since my main character is a prepubescent boy, we're not going to be worrying about that at this point. That being said, given the amount of Ginny-haters I had the first time round, I should probably warn you that I love the Weasleys, all of them, even the ones that are occasionally annoying. So if you are a Weasley-basher of any kind, this story _might_ not be your cup of tea.

I also scrapped Harry performing a Patronus, as many of you pointed out in the original it just wasn't realistic. However, we do know from the canon that Harry once transported himself onto a roof to escape Dudley and could never figure out _how_ he did it. From the onset of this story I have Harry transporting himself to escape danger. Therefore, for the purpose of this AU, we will assume that Harry's bouts of accidental magic mainly presents as a kind of uncontrolled Apparition in times of great stress.

As to shrinking Harry's age down, it was a hard decision, especially because I really liked the dynamic between Ally and Harry in _Shadowed Past_. But unfortunately, everything else fit with Harry being younger. I could have kept the age difference, but then my explanation for the blood ward wouldn't really work and I wouldn't be able to send her to Hogwarts at the same time as Harry. The relationship will be a bit different, but hopefully you will all still enjoy it.

I think that's it, except I have also changed the seasons from summer to winter, but you'll see why. From the next chapter I pretty much completely diverge from _Shadowed Past,_ so forget everything you think you know _._

Well, you tell me dear readers, better? Worse?

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing on this story, I have been floored by the response! You're all wonderful!


	3. Chapter 3

But did you see the flares in the sky?

Were you blinded by the light?

Did you feel the smoke in your eyes?

Did you? Did you?

Did you see the sparks filled with hope?

You are not alone

'Cause someone's out there, sending out flares

\- _Flares_ by The Script

 **Our Accidental Kidnapping**

Sirius Black's eyes opened blearily. He noticed first the yellow lights of the street lamps overhead. Snow was falling from a blackened sky, swirling in the golden light like embers from a fire. Everything was cold and his head hurt like hell. He must have hit it or something.

He creakily sat up, looking around and feeling dazed.

He was out in the middle of the street in a muggle neighbourhood, not too far from the service tunnel. He could see the light shining in from the houses. Most of them had Christmas lights out, blinking in all sorts of colours against the dark winter night. He was about to stand, when he noticed something dragging on his robes. Looking down, he froze at the sight of a small, pale hand grasping his front.

The boy that the hand belonged to was lying at his side and trembling. At first, Sirius thought it was from the cold, until he gave out a pained gasp when Sirius moved him. It was then that the dog-animagus saw the dark fluid staining his clothes and running over his face.

"Crap!" he cried.

As gently as he could, he pried the boy's fingers away and laid him down. He unhooked the kid's backpack, using it as a pillow to cushion his head. The child whimpered as he did, trying to bat away Sirius' hands.

"Try not to move!" the Auror said firmly, laying his hand gently on the boy's chest to still him, "You're pretty banged up. I'm going to get you some help, okay?"

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes. It was amazing this child had managed to Apparate, never mind Side-Long Apparate dragging a fully-grown adult along with him.

Even if he'd Splinched himself in the process.

"Lets see how bad it is," he muttered to himself, gently examining the boy. He removed the oversized red cap on his head to see where the blood was coming from. He found dark hair, matted with blood. Some of the hair and the skin had been ripped out at his hairline. The wound was shallow, but head wounds always bled more. He scrounged around for his wand and cursed when he realized it had dropped somewhere.

Probably back at the service tunnel.

"Shit!" he swore, patting his pockets down until he found what he was looking for. The handkerchief he had taken to stuffing in his pocket every morning was still there. It had been an ex-girlfriend's, but he didn't think she'd care about it getting bloodied up now.

He folded that piece of material over and pressed it firmly to the boy's scalp, trying to stem the bleeding. As he did this, he glanced over the rest of him.

"Well you've still got all your limbs, that's a good start," Sirius quipped, before taking in a sharp breath.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been, he had to remind himself as he peered at the gash running up the boy's left shin, he could have left chunks of himself behind him. He could have left the whole leg behind! He could have torn himself in half! As it was, he carefully rolled up the pants leg. It looked like someone had gouged out a long, thin strip of flesh from ankle to knee. The blood was running down and staining the snow beneath them. He had to stop that too.

"Kid," Sirius said loudly, tapping his face, "Kid, are you still awake?"

The boy didn't open his eyes, but he nodded painfully

"Okay," he took the boy's hand and placed it over the handkerchief, "I need you to hold this down firmly, it's going to help stop the bleeding."

The kid nodded and did as he was told.

Sirius let go and moved on to examine his leg. Not sure what else to do, Sirius slipped out the pocketknife he usually kept on him and had thankfully remembered to bring that morning. He used it to rip the ends of his robes into strips and then used them to wrap securely around the child's leg. He hissed with pain as Sirius did so.

"Ah hush, kid!" Sirius tried, "It'll all be okay, I promise. Ah geez, you've got blood all over your face too!"

He took the boy's glasses off, trying to clean up the narrow little face as best he could, but he seemed to be making a worse mess. The boy had his eyes shut tightly, his face contorted in a painful grimace. Sirius was struck for a moment about how much his face reminded him of Ally's. He shook his head, not wanting to think of his surrogate niece's smiling face covered with blood and grime.

Then again, something about this kid had been nagging at him since he met him and maybe it was just how much he reminded Sirius of Ally. He didn't want to think of the ten-year-old girl out alone after dark with no one around and dressed like a street kid. That had been Sirius' first impression of the child. He'd taken note of the baggy clothes that looked like they had seen better days, the guarded expression that had more to do with previous experience than the Dementors and his too thin appearance. He'd seen kids like this before. Kids exactly like this one, who made him think of _Harry_.

That had been among his thoughts as well. As much as he'd seen Ally there, he'd seen James too. It had startled him for a moment, but he shook away the thought. In the past eleven years, he'd seen Harry _everywhere_ he looked. So much so in fact, that he had come to distrust that part of himself. He'd just been wrong far too many times, putting his best friends through hell over and over again. So when the recognition had come, he shut it down.

Right now, just as in that tunnel, he had something else to concentrate on.

The boy was still trembling. Sirius checked him over again.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked softly, the boy shook his head, "Are you cold?"

He shook his head again, his tiny frame shaking as he started to cry.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Sirius scooped him into his arms, holding the boy's upper body against his chest, carefully so as not to aggravate the wound on his head, "Don't cry! It'll be okay! I'm so sorry this happened! We'll get you to rights!"

He rocked the boy in his arms, making soothing sounds like he'd done for Ally when she'd scrapped her knee.

"Not again," the boy was whimpering, "It happened again! Why does this keep happening to me?"

"Okay, okay," Sirius whispered, "You're fine. You're –"

Oh, he felt like an idiot. He'd been in such a rush to get after Pettigrew, he hadn't even paused to think the boy might be a wizard. If the Dementors hadn't circled back, he'd have Obliviated this child, thinking he was a muggle. Then what would have happened to him the next time he experienced a burst of accidental magic?

He tried to take a guess at the boy's age, but it was hard. He was so small and he looked half starved. He might just be approaching Hogwarts age or he might have been missed. It happened sometimes, especially to Muggle-borns.

The danger was when their magic started becoming dependent on their emotional state. It didn't always happen, but when it did it was dangerous to the child. On the rare occasion, it could prove fatal.

He rubbed the boy's back, trying not to think about it.

Instead, he backtracked what had happened this night. He and James had scoured the neighbourhood for signs of Pettigrew, speaking first to Arabella Figg, Dumbledore's informant. Then they'd split off to take another look, Sirius shifting into Padfoot, hoping to sniff out the rat.

He'd caught a scent.

He followed it to that service tunnel where he'd arrived just in time to see a group of Dementors after a boy. Pettigrew had been there too. It was the first time in eleven years since Sirius had last seen him. He couldn't help but feel contempt for the man. He must have been living as Wormtail all this time, if his appearance was anything to go by.

In an instant, he'd had to make a choice.

He shot a curse at Pettigrew before going after the kid. The rat got away, but he'd driven off the Dementors.

He'd made a rookie mistake then. He should have gotten the boy out of there first, and then performed the necessary procedures. He'd gotten caught up, wanting to be rid of the kid so he could go after Pettigrew. So he'd skipped steps and it had given the Dementors a chance to return.

As for the rest…well the boy had saved his life that much was clear.

Sirius owed him for that.

He wondered who had sent those Dementors. His fist clenched, thinking it might have been Higgins, over eager to catch Pettigrew.

 _And not sending someone along to control them_ , he thought bitterly _, stupid!_

"Sirius? Sirius!"

Sirius' head snapped up at the familiar voice and he almost sagged with relief. He always felt safer when his best friend was around. He seemed to have that quality about him. Sirius thought that maybe that's why James' animagus had ended up a stag, the watchful guardian of his herd. No matter what, no matter whom, he was always protective of those who needed it.

It was that one failure to protect his son that had taken a harsh toll on James in the years since. He'd lost some of his carefree nature and hardened a little. Sirius knew James thought the only reason he was filling in as Head Auror was because Longbottom was too reckless. But Sirius knew better. James was a natural leader, always had been and it shone through.

James was running towards them, his breath coming out in short, and rapid plumes. Sirius raised a hand to wave him over.

"Damn it Sirius, I told you to-" the stag animagus trailed off, staring down at the condition he found his friend in.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" James cried, coming to a stop in front of Sirius, "Whose this?"

"Some street kid," Sirius said and quickly explained what had happened. His friend's eyes went round in the dimness of the lamplight as he looked down at the boy still curled up on Sirius' chest. James' expression hardened for a moment, his eyes becoming considerate.

"Dementors? Here? In a muggle area?"

Sirius nodded.

James pursed his lips, the first thing he did next being to send a Patronus to the Ministry. It wouldn't do to have any rogue Dementors hunting in the muggle world after all.

Just as muggles couldn't see Dementors, they also had trouble _really_ seeing a Patronus. Most detected it as a flash of light out of the corner of their eyes, which was part of the reason wizards could risk using them as a form of communication. Sirius wasn't sure why, but then, he didn't know why they couldn't see Dementors either.

A good thing, Sirius thought, because that light would draw attention if their presence hadn't already.

That, or the muggles would think it was reindeer.

The snow was falling rather heavily now, likely the reason all the muggles were still cozying in their homes. Merlin, but Sirius could hardly see down the road.

"If it was Higgins, I'll kill him!" James snarled as he watched Prongs gallop away, "I'll rip his bloody throat out! Of all the reckless, idiotic-"

He cut himself off, sighing.

"Not to mention the paperwork," he moaned.

"James!" Sirius snapped impatiently, gesturing to the boy in his arms. His partner looked down as though seeing the kid for the first time. He knelt down in front of them, gaze searching as he examined the boy.

"Merlin! He's young! You said he Splinched himself?" James asked disbelievingly, "How did a kid this young Apparate?"

"I don't know," Sirius was saying, "But he saved my life! We need to help him!"

"Right, right," his friend nodded, "Wait! I think I've got some dittany on me."

Sirius almost laughed with relief when James pulled out a small leather purse and muttered a summoning charm over it, bringing forth a tiny brown bottle with a dropper. He carefully moved the boy, so James could reach his leg. He used a spell to remove the make shift bandage and carefully poured a few drops over the wound. Instantly, the skin began to knit together until it looked like the wound was several days old.

The boy gave a groan, trying to get away.

"Easy," James said softly, "Its just the dittany working."

"Don't forget his head," Sirius hissed.

"I see it Sirius," said his friend, applying dittany to the child's scalp.

He let out another whimper.

"Do you always come prepared?" Sirius asked James playfully, thankful to see the injuries closing.

"Lily tends to insist," James said with a smile in his voice, "Good thing they were just flesh wounds. With that and the Dementor exposure, it'll probably take a couple days before he's right again."

"Lily?" mumbled the boy, calming down and opening his eyes just a fraction.

"Ah, you're okay!" Sirius grinned down at him, "We just need to get you cleaned up and you'll be good as new!"

"Lily," he said again, sounding very tired as his eyes drifted shut, "Where's my picture? _Lily..._ "

"He's drowsy," James sighed, "Dittany does that to some people. His body is just overtaxed from the healing and the blood loss, he needs to rest."

He stood.

"We better get going."

Sirius nodded, he hooked the backpack over one shoulder and put the glasses in his pocket before scooping the kid up into his arms as he rose to his feet.

"Alright kiddo," he said, "Lets get you somewhere safe."

The boy looked half asleep now, his whole body having calmed down, but he still squirmed. One of his hands went flying to his head.

"My hat!" he cried, "Where's my hat?"

"Ah kid, that thing's all bloodied up," Sirius started, "You don't-"

"My hat!" the child insisted, frowning in his half sleeping state.

Sirius grimaced. They really had to get all that blood off his face.

"James, grab his damn hat, I'll carry him," Sirius growled irritably. What in the world did he want with a ruined cap?

James chuckled.

"Sure thing," he said, bending down to retrieve it, "I wonder why – oh wait! There's something in the brim –"

James cut off with a choke.

Sirius frowned, peering over at him. He had the hat in one hand and something else in the other. A piece of paper or card, stained with blood from the boy's injury. His friend was staring down at it like he'd seen a ghost.

"James? James, what's wrong?"

"Tell me again, how you found him?" James' voice had a deadly ring to it.

Sirius frowned, wanting to get the hurt child in his arms somewhere safer.

"In the service tunnel," he said, bemused, "Probably went in there to take cover from all this snow. Pettigrew must have done the same and then the Dementors followed him in. I'm guessing they were going for Pettigrew, but thought the kid was easy prey. Someone should have been controlling those things!"

"He was in the tunnel with Pettigrew," James said softly, still staring down at the card in his hand and clearly not talking to Sirius anymore, "In the tunnel with him…Dementors after Pettigrew? Doesn't make sense… Why would Peter have shown himself after so long? Why bother? Why -? Unless…"

His head snapped up and he drew his wand, lighting the tip with _lumos._ Sirius winced, they'd been lucky not to encounter any muggles thus far, but even with all the snow and twinkling Christmas lights around them, _that_ one might be visible.

"James!" he hissed.

His friend ignored him, holding the wand up to examine the boy's face. James frowned and cast a cleaning charm to get rid of all the blood. In the harsh wand light, he looked thinner and more withdrawn than before. Sirius winced at the sight, still not sure what was going on. James was clearly seeing something he wasn't.

"Buddy," James' voice was shaking, "Are you still awake? I need you to open your eyes for me. Can you do that? Can you tell me your name?"

The boy curled into Sirius, frowning irritably.

"M'tired," he muttered.

"I know," James coaxed, "Please just do this and I'll let you sleep. I promise."

" _Fine_ ," he said finally, forcing his heavy eyes to open. Sirius nearly dropped him, finally seeing what he had missed before. A pair of vivid, bright green eyes shone through, even in the white light of James' wand.

 _Harry?_

The eyes were squinting now, blinking rapidly as his frown deepened.

"M'names Harry," the boy confirmed, though it was wholly unnecessary by that point. Sirius let himself see the similarities that had been staring him in the face. Lily's eyes set in James' looks. Why, he bet that when his hair was free of blood and sweat that it was as uncontrollable as James'.

The boy – _Harry_ – was glaring at James, who still had his red cap and the piece of card grasped in one hand. He raised one arm and pointed.

"That's mine," Harry said weakly, letting his hand flop, "Don't lose it."

James – _poor James!_ – looked torn between laughter and tears.

"I won't," he promised, stroking a hand over Harry's head as the boy closed his eyes again, "Sleep now, little man. You're safe Harry. You're safe."

"M'kay," Harry mumbled, already drifting away.

Silence followed. James extinguished his wand as he looked down at the small boy, the strangest expression on his face. Sirius's arms shook, realizing just how precious his burden was.

"Are-are you sure?" he managed to gasp out, "James, are you sure its _him_?"

James' eyes snapped up to him and he turned the card he'd been looking at over so Sirius could see. He squinted and leaned in closer, eyes widening as he recognize the people in the photograph.

"We never found it, you know," James said softly, "Its was the only copy we had, but with the explosion…He must have grabbed it before-"

He cut off, letting out a shaking breath.

"It feels right this time," he said, looking at the boy again, "It feels – oh Merlin, he's so small! Why was he out by himself? Hasn't – hasn't anyone been looking after him?"

"James – " Sirius said slowly, already seeing the panic and anger in his friend's face.

"My son Splinched himself," James was shaking, "My _twelve-year-old_ son _Splinched_ himself!"

"James!" Sirius hissed, "Calm down!"

"Calm down?!" James gave a hysterical little laugh, "Calm down! Harry is here! We _found_ Harry! And he Splinched himself! And where's the Department for the Regulation of Under Age Magic huh? How many times has my son _Splinched_ himself without _anyone_ noticing?!"

"James," Sirius tried again, "You don't know that, this might be the first time-"

He couldn't finish. Harry's terrified cries entering his memory. _Not Again. It happened again._

"With our luck?" James shook his head, not hearing the hesitation, "With our goddamn, screwed up luck? How many times was he hurt, scared and alone, with no one to explain what was happening to him? It wasn't supposed to be like this! This wasn't supposed to be his life!"

"James!" Sirius brought the boy close to his father, "James look at him! Look at your son! He's here! You've found him! Look! He's a little tired and sore right now, but he's here. He's here and he's safe. We've got him James. We've got him!"

James looked down at Harry's face and hesitantly smiled, reaching out a hand to gently stroke across his cheek. The boy budged a little, shifting closer to his father's touch.

Sirius watched the exchange, his heart feeling surprisingly heavy. He glanced over James' shoulder when a flash of light caught him eyes.

"James," he said urgently, "In coming."

His friend turned, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from Harry.

A flash of silver approached them. Sirius recognized Frank Longbottom's Patronus, it was a stout, no nonsense bull dog with a permanent snarl affixed to its scrounged up face. He almost smiled, only Frank could make his Patronus that disagreeable looking.

The bulldog trotted right up to James and announced that Pettigrew had been arrested and Burrows was in St. Mungos, injured during pursuit.

Sirius watched as his best friend's lips stretched into a thin line.

"I don't know why they bothered putting _me_ in charge," he announced, "Longbottom is clearly used to doing as he pleases."

He ran a hand through his hair, as had always been his habit when stressed and looked down at the small boy still sleeping in Sirius' arms.

"I have to deal with this," he said, looking pained.

"James, Harry-" Sirius started, but was cut off.

"I know Sirius!" James snapped, "Merlin, don't you think I know? He – that _bastard_ tried to kill my son! He tried to kill my son _again!_ And it was all just pure dumb luck that we're here in the first place! Then of course, Longbottom charges in, gets Burrows injured and causes who knows how much damage in the process – and you just know there's going to be at least five muggles who need Obliviating! I have to deal with this!"

He was trembling.

"Harry – Harry deserves more than my scattered time right now," he continued softly, "And I can't give it to him if I have to keep the Department together. Damn Mad-Eye and damn Longbottom both!"

He was panting by the time he was done; hand gripping the oversized cap like he was imagining it was Pettigrew's head. Sirius swallowed what he was going to say, knowing the stress James had been under the past few months.

"Sirius maybe you can – no, that won't work, chain of command issues. I'll get Bones down to oversee things," James said, "Until I do, I need you to look after Harry. Take him to my office for now and send a message to Lily. Don't let anyone know we've found him. This is going to be enough of a circus with just Pettigrew."

Sirius didn't know how James could snap to attention like that. If it had been him, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stand, much less think about the bloody Auror department.

"Sirius?"

"Oh right, yes of course," Sirius said, licking his lips.

"Good," James nodded, and raised his wand, " _Accio_ Sirius' wand."

It didn't take long, James had always been rather good with the summoning charm, before Sirius wand came buzzing into his hand. He slipped it into Sirius' wand holster for him.

"Don't lose that again," James said with a weak smile and touched Harry's hand for a moment, "I'll be with you soon, Harry."

The boy responded by cuddling closer to Sirius, which made James' smile widen.

"Alright, lets get moving," he said finally, snapping back to the controlled Auror, "I'll meet you back at Headquarters when I can."

The air _cracked_ , and James was gone.

Sirius looked down at the boy in his arms, unconsciously holding him closer. He hoped this was Harry. He really hoped it was, but he couldn't silence the voice in his head that was reminding him of all the other times his friends had been disappointed. James seemed so sure, _but…_

He sighed.

Either way, this child needed help.

"You seem to have found your way into a mess of trouble," he said to the boy quietly, "Let's hope it doesn't become a habit."

 **~HP~**

When Remus Lupin decided to wait in his oldest friend's office that evening, he was not prepared for Sirius to come bursting in with a prepubescent boy in his arms.

It was getting late and most people were already heading home by the time Remus made his way up to the Auror department. He worked as a researcher in the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts. It wasn't a glamorous or particularly interesting job, but it was the steadiest work Remus had ever had. He was indebted in not small part to Arthur Weasley, who was the head of the department. Arthur knew about Remus' lycanthropy but had still hired him. Not many were willing to risk their own careers doing something like that, but then, Arthur had never been _that_ kind of man.

He also felt a kind of kinship with Arthur who was as overlooked as Remus was reviled and appreciated the older man's friendship.

He'd left him that evening still tinkering away with a toaster.

James and Sirius had agreed to meet him in James' office after work so they could head out for a nightcap together. As Remus walked through the Auror Department, he noticed a distinct _lack_ of Aurors. Frowning, he wondered what was calling their attention. Poor James, he'd certainly been under enough stress lately.

The leadership of the Auror Department had been up in the air since Rufus Scrimgeour left to take up office as Minister for Magic a few months previously. Alastor Moody had filled in for a time, before threatening to take retirement, yet again. Remus shook his head. No matter how many times Alastor 'retired' he still managed to come back.

As James explained it, they'd then reviewed each Auror based on performance and the amount of times they'd assumed a leadership role during missions. This narrowed their choices to Kingsley Shacklebolt, Frank Longbottom and James Potter. Shackelbolt had taken himself out of the running by transferring over to do a years stint with the Hit Wizards, something James, Sirius and Frank Longbottom had already done just after the war ended. Sirius didn't have the same track record heading missions as the other two, which made it a choice between Frank and James.

Unfortunately Frank Longbottom wasn't a good choice. Ever since Death Eaters attacked him and his wife after Voldemort's fall, he'd become reckless and driven. The attack had left Alice Longbottom in a permanently insane state of mind, a result of the hours of torture she and Frank had been subjected to. Frank had survived, after spending almost a year in a comatose state, but Remus thought something had broken in him that night. He was not the Frank Longbottom Remus remembered.

He knew that his son Neville lived primarily with his grandmother, as Frank was a proven workaholic and hardly went home. Remus had no doubt the poor boy would see his father even less if Frank managed to become Head Auror, though he didn't seem too interested in the post.

James on the other hand, wasn't too enamoured with the idea either. Remus knew this was because he felt the time needed to head the department would take away from his ongoing search for Harry and the time he spent with his family. Ally would be going to Hogwarts in September after all.

Remus smiled as he thought of his goddaughter. He had never been more shocked than the day James and Lily had picked him to be godfather. He was so sure it would be Sirius again. Because of his… _condition_ he wouldn't be able to act as guardian if anything happened to James and Lily.

" _Well I don't plan on dying," James had said, "Don't worry so much Moony and hold your goddaughter!"_

 _He'd pushed Ally into Remus' arms. She had been so very tiny, blinking up at him through a scrunched up little face._

" _She looks like a grumpy old man," Sirius had put in then, peering down at the little girl, "She's all red and wrinkly!"_

" _Sirius Black!" Lily scolded, earning a playful smirk from the dog-animagus._

" _What? My godchild was much cuter when he was a new born," Sirius fired back._

 _The room froze. It was the first time they'd mentioned Harry so casually since he'd disappeared. Sirius looked surprised with himself, then ashamed and opened his mouth to speak._

" _She'll run circles around her big brother," Remus interrupted, smiling down at Ally, "Poor Harry won't know what hit him."_

 _This drew hesitant smiles and the playful banter continued with Sirius boasting Harry would be a better flyer. Remus retorted by saying Ally would be smarter. They're mock argument brought chuckles from James and Lily. It was almost…normal._

Someone calling his name brought him out of the memory. He turned to see a young woman hurrying toward him.

"Nymphadora?" Remus enquired.

The nineteen year old with the shock of pink hair fixed him with a most spectacular glare. Nymphadors Tonks, who preferred to be called Tonks, was Sirius' baby cousin. Well, not so much a baby now he had to admit, fighting with the image of skinny four year old who kept asking him for piggy back rides. Fresh out of Hogwarts, she was an Auror rookie straight into her first year of training.

"Remus Lupin," she scolded, pink hair darkening to a sort of plum colour, "How many times-?"

"But its such a pretty name," Remus grinned, unable to help teasing her.

"For a pixie maybe!" she huffed, raising an eyebrow, "You're here late."

"So are you," he countered lightly.

She looked sheepish.

"I was hoping Sirius could help me with something," Tonks admitted, "I'd hoped to catch him, but he doesn't seem to be back yet."

Remus nodded.

"I was going to wait for James," he said, "Do you know where everyone's disappeared to?"

Tonks shrugged.

"I think it was something about a group of Dementors running rogue," she said, "I didn't get the full story though."

Remus winced at the thought and tried to change the subject.

"How's the Auror training? You're about half way through your first year now, right?"

Tonks nodded and grimaced.

"Mad-Eyes been made my supervisor," she admitted, "And this whole business with him threatening to retire isn't doing my education any good."

"I'm sorry," Remus said sympathetically.

"Ah well, what can you do?" she laughed it off, "Anyway, if you see the big lug, let him know I was looking for him, will you?"

"Of course," he said, "Good evening Dora."

She let out a huge sigh of exasperation, shooting him an odd look. A mischievous smile lit her face suddenly and she winked at him.

"I guess I'll compromise with that," she admitted, turning to leave, "Wotcher Remus!."

Remus watched her go, a little bemused by the parting gesture and laughed at himself.

At thirty-two he _still_ didn't understand teenage girls.

Remus entered James' office and took a seat on the familiar, squidgy couch his friend had insisted in installing there. James liked to sit there to read or take a nap when a little down time allowed him to. He'd even left a pair of reading glasses on the small side table, right beside the ornament depicting Prongs in all his glory that Lily had given him as a Christmas present last year. It was a heavy thing, carved from a dark wood. The detail was wonderful. It had also been charmed to transform between a stag, a dog and a wolf and run about the tabletop whenever someone said 'Marauder.'

Remus took a seat, glancing at the full bookcase that lined the opposite wall. He had just gotten up to browse James' collection when the door crashed open and Sirius Black came rushing through.

"Remus!" he exclaimed, sounding relieved, "Help with him, would you?"

There was a small body curled up in Sirius' arms.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Remus exclaimed, jumping to his feet, "Whose this-?"

"I'll explain in a minute!" Sirius snapped, "Lock the door!"

He laid the boy out on the couch while Remus stepped over to the door to lock it. Sirius was checking the boy over, making sure he was comfortable. There was blood on his left pants leg and matting his mob of dark hair.

"What happened?" Remus tried again.

"It's Harry," his friend said quietly, "Or, we think it is."

"What!?"

"Not so loud," Sirius hissed, "Kids had a rough night already. Help me clean him up and see if James has a blood replenishing potion around here somewhere."

A few minutes later, the blood had been spelled away and Sirius was gently coaxing the potion down the boy's – Harry's – throat. Remus watched in fascination as he stirred, still caught in the vestiges of sleep and obediently gulped down a few sips before his head lolled backwards.

"He's exhausted," Sirius sighed.

"Its – its Harry?" Remus felt chocked, "You're sure."

"James is," his friend muttered.

"Sirius!" Remus scolded, "What happened?"

Sirius opened his mouth to explain when there was a fierce knocking at the door. The two men jumped as a familiar voice called;

"Potter! Potter I know you're in there! We need to talk!"

 _Frank Longbottom._

"Gah! What's _he_ doing here?" Sirius snapped, "I'll be a second."

He went to the door, unlocking it and stepping through quickly so Frank wouldn't get a look at who was inside.

"Black," Remus heard Frank bark, "Where's Potter?"

"Why do you want him?" Sirius asked.

"He's taken me off active duty!" the older Auror snapped.

Their voices became muffled for a time as Remus stared at the small boy sleeping in the coach. He extended a hand and gently ran a hand over his face.

"Harry?" he croaked.

He flashed back to the day he had met James Potter on the train to Hogwarts. This boy looked so similar it was scary. He was thinner and paler. There were dark circles under his eyes and it looked like he hadn't had a descent night sleep in days.

" _-you listen to me Black!"_

Harry stirred, disturbed by the voices.

Remus frowned and quickly went to the door, slipping through as Sirius had and closing it quietly behind him. He planted his back to the door, barring anyway for someone to enter.

"James isn't here Frank," Remus said casually, interrupting the two men, "I was feeling poor, so he let me crash for a while."

Frank Longbottom swirled his gaze to Remus. He was a tall man, with brown hair and a square jaw that was dusted with stubble. In the old days he was rarely seen without a good-humoured smile on his face, now though he was rarely seen without a scowl of some kind.

"And I thought you'd be grateful for the time off," Remus continued before he could start, "The Hogwarts students will have come back for the holidays by now, wouldn't they? I'm sure Neville will enjoy spending more time with his father."

It was a jab and they both knew it. A flash of guilt crossed Frank's expression before the scowl snapped back into place.

"Tell Potter I want to speak to him," was all he said as he sauntered off.

"He's really turned into a grumpy ass the past few years," Sirius sighed as they watched him go.

"Why had James taken him off active?" Remus asked.

"He went off half-cocked to catch Pettigrew, got Burrows sent to St. Mungos."

"What!?" Remus cried, "Sirius! What happened?!"

In a low voice, Sirius quickly explained. The werewolf felt like sitting down by the time he was done.

"Harry and Pettigrew," he shook his head, "Poor James, this has been quite a night."

"Wait till we have to explain to Lily," Sirius shook his head, "Merlin! Its impossible to believe! _I_ couldn't believe what happened! Never seen anything like it! That kid is pretty lucky, Apparating like that without something worse happening to him."

"We always suspected he was," was Remus' calm reply, "He did it as a baby, remember? But you seem to be a little reticent about calling him Harry."

Remus seemed to have hit the nail on the head.

"I nearly Obliviated him Remus," Sirius shook his head, "I stopped thinking that every little boy might be Harry a long time ago. Its not like there's some kind of test for this sort of thing. I'm just hesitant to believe it."

"Well its not like James and Lily will give you permission to experiment," Remus teased lightly.

Sirius let out a strained laugh.

"Lily and James just need to get here, then we'll need to figure out how to deal with this kind of thing," he said with finality, and opened the door for them to go through.

 **~HP~**

The waking world blurred for Harry. He remembered being cold, snow swirling and disappearing around him. He was dizzy and weak. His head hurt and he felt something wet and clinging on his face. He closed his eyes so it wouldn't run into his eyes, but the smell already told him what it was.

 _Blood._

Something moved and his leg burst into pain. It felt like someone had taken the curved edge of a potato peeler and dug it into his flesh from ankle to knee. He cried, realizing why as the memory hit. _It_ had happened again!

There was someone hovering over him, moving him about and making hushing sounds. The words were disjointed to Harry's confused mind, he remembered being told to hold something to his head and being told he was going to okay, but the panic he felt made everything ramble. The voice was soothing though. Familiar almost. Warm arms held him and Harry relaxed, some unconscious part of him trusting the warmth.

Another voice came and Harry's leg and head were _burning_. He tried to get away, but was held still by the first warm presence. Suddenly it stopped and he felt exhausted. Then a familiar word finally emerged.

 _Lily._

His hat, where was his hat? He wanted his picture. He wanted to see his mother's smiling face and feel like it really was going to be okay.

They were moving him.

 _No! His hat!_

The second voice spoke to him too, coaxed him to open his eyes.

 _But he was so tired!_

The voice begged and Harry was suddenly curious. He opened his eyes slowly, squinting at the bright light that met them. He couldn't make out the face though, someone had removed his glasses and everything was blurry.

A hand touched him, it felt nice and the man told him to sleep. That seemed like a good idea. He felt warm and oddly safe. He remembered hearing voices in his dreams and drinking something, but it was all lost in his happy, dreamy state.

The next time he woke the feeling quickly evaporated.

He didn't dare move, his eyes glancing around as he realized he was somewhere wholly unfamiliar. He recognized now why everything was so blurry; it was because his glasses were still missing.

He was laying on something squidgy, a couch he thought and he could smell ink and something slightly musky. Slowly, he experimentally moved his leg. It was stiff and there was a twinge of pain, but he no longer felt like anything was burning. He reached a hand up to feel his head and winced when his fingers touched a hairless patch that stung when he pressed it.

Licking his lips to steel himself, he sat up and groped around to find where he was. His hand hit a small table to the side of the coach and he felt along it. His hand his something small and wooden before moving on. He gave a breath of relief when his hand found a pair of glasses.

Immediately, he jammed them onto his face and the world cleared.

He noticed, belatedly, that they weren't _his_ glasses. They weren't round or duck taped, but had rectangular frames instead. They worked though and he didn't think about it too much after that.

He was in an office. There was a large, red wood desk facing the door, it had piles of papers balanced on it and, strangely, inkbottles and large feathers Harry thought were quill pens. There was a large bookshelf on one wall, filled with books and odd-looking items. One shelf boasted a whole row of glass bottles with different coloured liquids in each. A coat rack in the corner was hung with long, dark cloaks and there was a mirror with shadowy reflections in another. An old looking clock on the wall declared it was eight o'clock.

 _Already?_ Harry blinked and shook his head. Rolling back his pants leg – _funny, he thought it would be bloody_ – he decided to see what damage had been done this time. He looked down at the wound on his leg and frowned, panicked. It didn't look like something he'd received a few hours ago. The skin was already meshing together and the swelling was gone. It looked more like something he'd received a week or so ago!

 _How long had he been here? Where was he? How long had he been asleep?_

He took a deep breath and reminded himself that healing quickly was something that had happened to him before, not like this of course, but maybe it was just one of those _strange_ things.

He almost laughed, thinking it was the first time he'd felt relieved something strange had happened.

He was startled from his thoughts at the sound of voices just outside the door. He quickly lay down again, taking off the glasses and stuffing them into his pocket. No one came in immediately, but he strained his ears to hear.

"I couldn't believe what happened! Never seen anything like it! That kid is…"

A muffled response.

"…some kind of test for this sort of thing…"

"…permission to experiment…"

"…need to figure out how…"

It was Harry's worst fears come to light. They'd seen him do something freakish and had taken him away!

The last time someone had discovered one of his _Incidents_ they'd given him some good advice.

Run and keep running.

Being different meant you were never supposed to fit in anywhere. It meant that if people found out, they wouldn't want you anywhere near them.

Harry had had a lot of families. He'd think things were settling and then something strange would happen. Things he couldn't explain but that inevitably served to scare the family into sending him back to the orphanage. He remembered apologetic parents telling him it wasn't his fault, but who couldn't quite look at him. He remembered just being dropped off once, with no explanation as to why. He remembered angry shouting, demanding to know what he'd done. He remembered being dragged to a doctor's office and being poked and prodded for hours with no result.

All this had led him to one conclusion.

There was something wrong with _him_.

So it was easier, much easier, to just be alone.

And when you were alone, you learned to take care of yourself.

Harry sucked in air, gulping down each breath like he was drowning as terror corroded its way through him. For seconds he couldn't move, panic freezing him to the coach. What was he going to do now? He had to get away! He just had to!

 _But how…?_

The door handle moved and Harry sucked in a breath and closed his eyes, forcing himself to stay calm. He heard the door creak open and the people outside stepped in.

"Still out," Harry felt a warm hand brush his hair, "Poor mite."

"I'm going to see if James needs a hand," it was the second, oddly familiar voice, "Remus, watch him till Red gets here will you?"

"Sirius! What am I supposed to say to her? James ought to be here!" _Remus_ cried.

"That's why I'm going to see if I can relieve him," and the door closed as _Sirius_ left.

Remus made clicking sound with his tongue.

"James should have taken him straight home," he sighed to himself. For a long while he remained hovering next to Harry. The boy kept his eyes shut, forcing his breath to come out steadily as he feigned sleep. Remus eventually moved away, Harry could hear him shuffling about. He hazarded opening his eyes, just a little and saw the man was peering at the bookcase, his back to Harry. He carefully put the glasses back on to get a clearer view; luckily Remus didn't seem to notice. He had straight, light brown hair and his clothes were funny. It looked like he was wearing a dress!

Confused, but more focused on getting away, he looked at the door. It was closed and given the creaking sound it had made when the men opened it before, Harry doubted he'd get very far without being noticed. His eyes swerved around again, landing on a stag shaped ornament on the side table and a plan formed in his head.

 **~HP~**

When Sirius found James, he was already on his way back to his office. The corridors were all empty with many of the Ministry workers having headed home.

"Is Lily there?" was the first thing out James' mouth when he spotted his old friend.

Sirius shook his head.

"I left Remus with him," he explained quickly, before James could say anything else, "I thought I might be able to relieve you."

James nodded, giving him a wane smile. Sirius didn't think he'd seen James look so tired, not since just after Ally was born.

"Amelia agreed to take over," the stag-animagus explained, "Bless her, all I had to say was family emergency and she completely understood."

"She's a good woman," Sirius agreed, the image of the square-jawed, grey haired Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement coming to mind.

"I'll have to explain things to her later," James said absently, "I haven't given her the whole story, but it will come about eventually, especially once they start questioning Wormtail."

"What's happening with the rat?" Sirius asked as they walked.

"He's in custody," James said slowly, "I didn't go see him. I borrowed a few Hit Wizards to guard him and warned them about Wormtail. He took a chunk out of Burrows earlier you know. Then I turned it all over to Amelia."

Sirius was surprised.

"We finally have him though!" he exclaimed, though in actuality he hadn't even thought about the rat, not with all the excitement over Harry.

"Peter Pettigrew's not having another minute of my life," James declared decidedly, "There's more important things, especially now."

Sirius felt a tightness in his chest. He didn't know how James could let it go. Sirius wanted to tear the rat to pieces and had jumped at every mention of him for the past eleven years. He'd thought James was the same, but his friend now had a funny kind of grin on his face.

"James," he said carefully, "How are you so sure? I mean – we've been deceived before."

James sobered at this statement and shook his head.

"I've never felt like this before," he said finally, "Not about one of those imposters. And everything that happened tonight fits, why else would Pettigrew have gone after him? Its Harry Sirius, I know it is."

His hazel eyes burned with conviction, glowing almost amber in the fire light of the corridor. He stopped walking and turned to look at Sirius.

"I know its been hard and I know you still blame yourself for a lot of things when it comes to Harry," Sirius shifted uncomfortably under than penetrating gaze, "But Sirius, you're his godfather and you love him, I know that. _You're_ the one who found him tonight. You saved him. Don't second-guess this. Its Harry and he's home."

Sirius felt his eyes sting, nodding slowly. He still hoped, rather than really believed it. It was all just too easy.

"What about the Dementors?" he asked instead.

James shrugged, his eyes darkening.

"Amelia's going to head the investigation," he said, "It wasn't Higgins, or well, he's denying any knowledge at least."

"So it was someone else?"

"Or they were rogue," James frowned and looked away, clearly not believing that explanation, "Someone was over eager to get Pettigrew."

Sirius stilled as a terrible thought occurred to him.

"Or Harry," he intoned quietly.

James' gaze snapped to him sharply.

"That better not be the reason," he said quietly, "They'll get the truth out of him, I'm sure."

He started walking again.

"Has he woken up?" he asked, voice a little unsteady.

"He's still out," Sirius confirmed, quickly catching up with his friend, "Snores as loud as you, Prongs!"

James snorted.

"You wound me Padfoot," he laughed with a flash of his old playfulness back, "He gets it from Lily!"

Sirius laughed.

They were just rounding the corner to James' office when the door opened. Expecting Remus, Sirius raised his hand in greeting when a narrow, pale little face peered out. Green eyes spotted them, widened and darted out and in the opposite direction before anyone could speak.

"Harry! Wait!" James yelled and ran after him.

Sirius jogged behind, his eyes darting through the open door of the office as he ran. His eyes widened and he halted, rushing in. He found his friend lying on the carpeted floor, unconscious, one of James' ornaments discarded near him.

"Shit!" Sirius exclaimed, rushing to his Remus' side, "He didn't!"

Remus gave a sudden groan when Sirius shook him, clutching his head. He opened his eyes blearily and stared at him blankly.

"Sirius? What –" his head caught up and he groaned again, "Oh, that's embarrassing!"

Sirius let out a relieved chuckle.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked.

Remus nodded.

"He just blindsided me," he admitted, "You better get after him! I'll catch up in a minute."

"James has already gone," Sirius started, worried for his friend.

Remus pushed him away.

"Go!" he yelled.

 **~HP~**

Harry was lost.

The corridors twisted round and there were doors everywhere. He kept running though, aware of the man hot on his heels. He was calling his name, ordering him to stop and come back.

 _Oh crap, they knew his name!_

Maybe he was in some kind of weird government facility, which might explain the funny uniforms. His head was filled with the weirdness of this night. From the monsters in the service tunnel to the weird, mousy looking man who knew his name to –

How had _that_ man known his name? He shuddered. What if they had been looking for him all along? They'd somehow found out about the things he did and they wanted to experiment on him. His eyes filled with panicked tears.

 _No, no, no! I'm not going to get caught!_

He kept repeating it as he went. He was faster than the man following, and had managed to evade him several times, by ducking down corridors and staircases before he could see. He was also smaller and younger, which made it easier for him to maneuver the corners and twists that the older man had to slow down to manage. But each time, he was quickly found again and had to take off. The man even managed to grab him once and Harry found himself staring into a pair of hazel eyes, accompanied by a long nose, spectacles and messy dark hair. The spectacles were identical to the ones Harry was wearing.

"Harry please!" he begged, leaning down so he was face to face with Harry, "I'm not going to hurt you! Harry, I'm your f-"

"James! James! There you are!"

Harry didn't see who it was but he took advantage of the distraction.

He kicked the man's – _James_ ' – shin, hard. James grunted, but didn't let go, so Harry slammed his fist into his long nose. This time, the man doubled back, holding his nose and letting go of Harry. The new comer gave a cry and Harry was gone again.

The world blurred as he ran. He didn't know where he was going and felt like a rat in a maze. There had to be a way out! Hell, he'd do for a window he could jump out of at this point!

Harry heard James behind him again; this time there was someone else following too. Harry's head was still aching, now worsened by the pumping of his blood as he ran. His leg had hurt at first too, but the adrenalin was keeping him from feeling it.

"Damn it!" he heard a curse behind him in between rapid pants, "Lets just stun him!"

"Don't you dare!" James snarled, picking up his pace.

Harry almost hesitated at that. _Were they telling the truth? Did they really not want to hurt him?_

He shook himself and pushed harder, fully away of how close they were getting.

 _No! He just couldn't take that chance!_

He burst out into a huge, dazzling hall filled with people. He didn't pause to notice anything but that they were all headed in the same direction. _That must be where the exit is!_

He dived through the crowd, even as the men bellowed for someone to stop him. Harry was too quick though and by the time anyone registered what was happening, he had moved passed them. He could hear people complaining as the two men fighting their way through the crowd jostled them.

Harry fought his way to the front and stared.

It wasn't an exit, but a row of large fireplaces that people were taking turn walking into. They'd step up, throwing some kind of sparkly dust into the hearth. The flames would burn an emerald green and they would step in, disappearing as the flames roared up to engulf them.

" _Harry! Stop!"_

He turned at the sound to see that man James running towards him, trying to make his way through the crowd of people headed towards the fireplaces. Eyes widening, Harry whipped back around, pretending not to hear and picked up his pace, following the mass. He edged close to one of the fireplaces.

A tall, balding red haired man with glasses had just stepped into the green flames, his back to Harry. Not thinking and very aware of James pushing his way through the crowd to get to Harry, he suddenly dived in, shocked not to feel any heat from the hearth.

The last thing he heard before the world rushed away from him was a man's voice calling out;

" _The Burrow!"_

 **~HP~**

A/N: Thank you all once again for the amazing response to the first two chapters, you've kept the writing bug going!

I might have stretched it a bit with Harry's reactions in this one, but hopefully not overly so. He's just a very scared and confused little boy right now. Twelve year olds are surprisingly hard to write and he's very different to the other two preteen main characters I have going at the moment.

I've also had to think of the consequences of Lily and James surviving, so that's why the structure of the wizarding world might be slightly different than in the canon. For instance, because they were around, help reached the Longbottoms in time to save Frank and Barty Crouch Jr. was killed in the crossfire. Crouch Sr. became Minister for Magic instead of Fudge by using his influence as Head of the DMLE to suppress the circumstances behind his son's death. With only one Death Eater pointing fingers, a pair of incapacitated witnesses and no other solid proof, it didn't prove too difficult. He instead painted his son as a hero who was there to aid the Longbottoms, but had been killed by the Lestranges before he could. When Frank woke up, he had too many gaps in his memory to be of much help. Crouch Sr. has recently retired to tend to his wife in her ill health and Rufus Scrimgeour took over, leaving the vacuum in the Auror Department.

That's one example anyway and we'll get into it as the story goes. Running parallel to Harry and his family will be Neville and Frank's story. So, should be fun. The main point here is that I'm trying very hard not to just rehash the canon, but we'll see how that goes.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
